I10 Fl. to Ca.

[richy2]

We're thinking about spending December and part of January in southern California. What kind of weather can we generally expect that time of year traveling from Florida to Borrego Springs and back?

[yr2017]

ppine wrote:
It is a matter of luck. North Texas and NM can have some cold weather and snow in December. Timing is everything on a trip like that. Watch the weather and be ready to layover for a day or two if necessary.

I-10 doesn't go that way. You're referring to I-40

[one_strange_tex]

The Lake Charles I-10 bridge was built in 1952 by Earl Long's administration. Earl was the younger brother of Huey P. Long. It is narrow and steep and not built to interstate highway standards. I would suggest going around it due to the those conditions as well as the general curviness of I-10 going through Lake Charles proper. However, the alternate, I-210, is disadvantaged by widening on the Calcasieu River bridge, which has it down to 1 lane each way. Highway construction in Louisiana proceeds at its own pace, which I liken to the movement of a glacier.

[otrfun]

bob213 wrote:
You will be too busy getting beat to death by the the terrible I10 road conditions to worry about the weather. After a 5 week trip that included a lot of I10 I would find another route if it were me, even if it meant driving more miles.

IMO, the road conditions on I10 are no better or worse than any other interstate----except in LA. There's a 30-40 mi. stretch of I10 in LA where the concrete slabs are off-level from each other to the tune of 2-4". Every 40-50 ft. your rig is slammed up and down. I've driven this same, messed-up stretch of I10 since the 80's. Find it mind-boggling they've never taken the time to repair it after all these years.

[TxGearhead]

^^^Actually driving across the I-10 Lake Charles bridge is no issue. The problem is that many people think it is about to fall in the river, based on engineering reports. If you have to drive through Houston at rush hour use loop 610 or Beltway 8 (toll).

[KO]

I have made the drive from Tampa FL to Yuma AZ twice a year since 2008. That would be 4400 miles round trip, and I almost have I-10 memorized. In comparison with other interstates it is not bad. Louisiana is tough as I had my rear bedroom window shatter from the rough road.

The bridge someone mentioned is no big deal.

Weather can be unpredictable. I wouldn't worry about the snow as you can easily anticipate it coming to you. Wind is a bigger issue - especially in the west Texas to Arizona stretch. My dog and I spent three days in a Louisiana hotel as snow had closed the Interstate during on January trip.

Houston, San Antonio and El Paso are all horrible due to crazy traffic. I tried to time my drive so I would pass thru early AM before rush hour.

It took me three and a half days to drive. Usually towed my Honda. Watch fuel state in West Texas as they can be far between where you can get drive a big rig into.

[ependydad]

We did the drive from CA to FL a couple of years back in January and basically took I-10 the whole way. It was cool weather and we had some freezing issues when we were in the middle of Texas. But nothing really to write home about.

[TxGearhead]

You will hit some rough roads at Sulphur Louisiana (whoop de doos) and Orange Texas (construction). Also the I-10 high bridge over the Calcasieu River at Lake Charles Louisiana is rated as one of the worst bridges in the US. Some companies require employees to use loop 210.

[one_strange_tex]

bob213 wrote:
You will be too busy getting beat to death by the the terrible I10 road conditions to worry about the weather. After a 5 week trip that included a lot of I10 I would find another route if it were me, even if it meant driving more miles.

I have to say, I don't recall the stretches of I-10 where you are likely to encounter winter weather (namely West Texas, New Mexico and Arizona) having "terrible road conditions." I went through a stretch of that (San Antonio to Phoenix) last year and didn't experience any bad roads. The rough parts of I-10 I've experienced are in the Deep South, excluding Florida.

Since I-10 hugs the southern border starting in West Texas heading west, any route diversion would be to the north and more likely to have winter weather.

[bob213]

You will be too busy getting beat to death by the the terrible I10 road conditions to worry about the weather. After a 5 week trip that included a lot of I10 I would find another route if it were me, even if it meant driving more miles.

[TexasShadow]

Between San Antonio, TX and Tucson, AZ, there will be a possibility of brief snow/sleet storms that are usually fast moving but make for slick roads for a day or so. Just pay attention to weather reports.
you will probably sail right through with no trouble at all.

[ppine]

It is a matter of luck. North Texas and NM can have some cold weather and snow in December. Timing is everything on a trip like that. Watch the weather and be ready to layover for a day or two if necessary.

[Dick_B]

You can to to the Weather Channel and get the averages for any city in the country for any month.