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Driving from Calgary to Houston between Nov-Jan
Hi,
I may need to drive from Calgary to Houston (texas) some time between late November and January (might move for work). Some questions: Is it totally insane to do this drive in the winter? Are snow tires necessary? I imagine they would be useful while up north, but would wear pretty quickly once i hit the more southern states? What would be the best route? Going the quickest way may not be easiest in the winter. I was thinking of 1) Taking the most direct route possible, but restricting myself to well plowed major freeways 2) Going south through california and then going east through Arizona and New Mexico. With this route I would hopefully enounter no snow/ minimal snow once in the states. Would winter tires still be needed for this route? Thanks. |
#2
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Driving from Calgary to Houston between Nov-Jan
Are snow tires necessary? I imagine they would be useful while up
north, but would wear pretty quickly once i hit the more southern states? Food, water, snow tires during these months of the year. Perhaps a shovel and lots of clothes. Even a flashlight and some matches? You'll probably skate right on through but as far as planning for this you'd best do the Boy Scout thing. s |
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Driving from Calgary to Houston between Nov-Jan
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Driving from Calgary to Houston between Nov-Jan
Are snow tires necessary?
Winter tires can definitely give you more control. But if you may move to Houston, a more practical choice might be to get some new all- season tires that have high ratings for traction in ice and snow. For ratings, a good place to check is Consumer's Reports magazine (a non-profit organization). You can see them for free at your local library, and they also post their ratings at consumerreports.org, although much of their site is for subscribers only. They conducted extensive testing of popular all-weather tires and rate them according to things like winter traction, etc. (I know because I recently bought tires based upon their ratings.) Your public library probably has them, and in the back of each issue they have an index to all their reviews. James |
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Driving from Calgary to Houston between Nov-Jan
Albert Mills:
What would be the best route? Going the quickest way may not be easiest in the winter. I'll just make the comment that this is a question you probably shouldn't decide until the last minute, when actual weather forecasts will be available. Continental climate, year-to-year and week-to-week variation, and all that. -- Mark Brader, Toronto | "[That] statement is so full of hubris | you can hear the wax melting." -- Steve Summit |
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Driving from Calgary to Houston between Nov-Jan
Avoid taking the I-40 route through Arizona and New Mexico. It's high desert. *Flagstaff at 7,000 feet (2300 meters) above sea level is Alpine climate, and gets sizable snow falls. *That whole route to Albuquerque is very prone to fast moving winter storms. *You can become stranded in a heart beat. *And there aren't many towns along it: Just miles and miles of empty miles. *Take the southern route I've suggested. *No snow. For the record, I've been snowed on along the southern route, though it didn't amount to much. Anyway. My experience with driving that part of I-40 at all times of year is extensive. Winter weather can be severe over the top between Williams and Flagstaff, at the Continental Divide between Gallup and Grants, and east of Albuquerque in the high country, no doubt about it. However, winter storms there tend to be frontal and predictable, and the authorities get I-40 plowed and re-opened as fast as possible since this is one of the nation's truly major truck arterials. Checking the weather on the Internet or TV news in your motel room, and allowing yourself a couple days of schedule contingency in case you have to pull up short and let the weather go by, should allow you to miss anything bad that's on its way. Quite often one finds that the driving conditions aren't actually that bad -- but other drivers are, so you're sitting there in a traffic jam in quite acceptable conditions because someone with poor tires or low skills or bad judgement had a wreck up ahead. All in all, winter driving in this region is to be regarded with respect and preparedness, not fear. http://www.tirerack.com/about/techcenter.jsp has a section on many aspects of winter driving in case you want to bone up on techniques and see how you might equip yourself. Have a safe trip, --Joe |
#7
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Driving from Calgary to Houston between Nov-Jan
In article
, " wrote: 2) Going south through california and then going east through Arizona and New Mexico. With this route I would hopefully enounter no snow/ minimal snow once in the states. Would winter tires still be needed for this route? Definitely not via California from Calgary. Lots of snow getting to northern California including the mother of all snowy hills at Grants Pass on the I5. |
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