I40 East in Early November

[apimple]

We will taking I40 to reach our final destination Atlant between Nov 4-9, passing through Tempe, AZ, Tucumcari NM, OK, Memphis MS.
Would like to know how will be the conditions during this time-frame. We have a coupe and its front wheel drive. concerned about the road, snow.
Is I40 the preferred route?
The elevations and road conditions is suitable for a car? (we will be carrying a good load with us we are moving )

We have't done any cross-country trip before. Please advise.

[glc]

Welcome to RTA!

You shouldn't have any problems.

Where are you leaving from? If the Phoenix area, I'd probably prefer I-10 to I-20 instead. It's going to be just as fast, if not faster, and is at a considerably lower elevation. The only downside is getting through the DFW metroplex, but if you take I-40, there's no direct Interstate connection in Memphis to I-22/US-78, and I don't know if the new interchange in Birmingham is open yet between I-22 and I-65.

[Southwest Dave]

There is just no way of knowing what the conditions will be until a couple of days before you leave and then you should keep up to date with the latest while on the road. Interstates are a priority to keep clear and open in the event of a winter storm so the worst you should get is a few hours delay, but hopefully it will remain clear for you.

[DonnaR57]

Start watching weather reports and websites several days before your trip. If it seems to be good weather each way, choose the route that you'd rather take (based on the advice above). When you pull into a motel each evening, watch the weather channel carried by the motel's cable system. (In most cases, it's Weather Channel.) You can always change your route to go around a storm, the way the airlines do, or choose to sit and let one go by.

If you've got a load, the I-10 to I-20 route may be a lot easier on your vehicle. Be careful not to overload, though, as you can damage the car!


Donna

[Southwest Dave]

If you stay overnight near a city, stay to the east of it so that you are heading away from it in the morning, just as the rush hour traffic is heading into it.

[Harry Kline]

I would also suggest I-10 and I-20. I've traveled both the north and south routes many times in the winter and I-40 can be pretty dicey in Oklahoma and Texas. It's open country and the snow blows across the road limiting visibility. I also agree that I-22/US78 is not yet completed to Birmingham as an interstate highway, and the only alternate is to go I-40 to Nashville and take I-75 down to Atlanta, but that is about 100 miles extra.

[lmking1224]

We traveled I-40 in December last year (and will be again this December!), and I have to say that we did hit bad conditions.

On our way out, we went through very bad snow in Texas. I can't remember the exact details, but we were basically 30 miles from a hotel in either direction, so we pushed forward when we would have otherwise stopped. The snowflakes were the size of golfballs (I swear!), and the visibility was terrible.

On our way back home, we came through horrible snow and ice in Oklahoma. We were driving on a sheet of ice for at least 100 miles. It was seriously safer to press forward at a SLOW speed than it was to try to take an exit because a plow was ahead of us on the highway but the exits hadn't been touched.

It was pretty scary.

Granted, this was the end of December and not the beginning of November, so that may make a difference. Just be careful!