In these parts (US Northwest), there is typically no driving to avoid bad roads. When I-90 is impassable with the fleets of snowplows thrown at it, everything else is typically going to be in worse shape.
Now this is good advice! You’re going the wrong way!
Yes. You can be the most conscientious driver on the road and creep along safely but if someone else is in an accident ahead of you, you are suddenly at a standstill with extended arrival times for emergency vehicles hoping you don’t run out of gas.
I was thinking of driving from (basically) La Crosse to (basically) Madison on Friday., mostly on I90/94 Most of the snow will happen on Thursday.
If I don’t go then I head to (basically) Appleton on Saturday, on highway 21 (which is genrally not as well plowed as the interstate).
I’ll make my decision Thursday night or Friday morning, checking out 511
Brian
Be careful: even if the snow has stopped falling, if it’s blowing enough, that could seriously affect visibility and road conditions.
What I always think is funny is that every car on the road is all-wheel stop. The only thing AWD/4WD gives you is more-wheel-go.
Inability at go usually isn’t the cause of snow/ice accidents; they’re almost all inability at stop. Plus a few failure to steer accidents that AWD/4WD might help sometimes in deep soft snow, but not at all on ice.
Yes, considering the temps Thursday the snow will be light and fluffy, perfect for being blown around on Friday. I will monitor the conditions and adjust accordingly. One year I made it Tomah and gave up (my sister was living there at the time)
Christmas Day looks OK, backup plan is leave early that day.
Brian
My farmer classmates in high school explained how 4WD tractors mostly were a way to get stuck in even deeper mud.
Yeah. I’m going to be home tomorrow (bomb cyclone), contemplating the best recipe for boozy pancakes.
A little over a month ago, I hit black ice and spun into the center divider ‘cable barrier.’ I was followed immediately by a handful of other cars, all of whom came within a few feet of hitting me and each other.
I was fine. Car: not quite so much.
If conditions are right for that kind of black ice, I’d avoid driving unless it was absolutely essential.
Good luck to all who are about to get (meteorologically) spanked!
-20F now, but the sun is peeking out. Tough conditions for the new slick-coat dog.
Should have put the tractor in the garage (which would have been kind of a big deal). Not even thinking of starting. I packed down the snow in the driveway in hope we’ll get our presents.
I love the family holidays but I think most of us are sensible and wouldn’t risk life and limb for them.
Ah.
I wasn’t planning to travel anyway. I have family members who were planning to travel to another family member’s place; they’re going to wait if necessary until the road conditions are decent, therefore possibly arriving a day or more later than originally planned.
Our son is taking the bus down from Ithaca to DC on Friday. It looks like it’ll be ok; I’m assuming they’ll just cancel if it gets worse than expected.
That reminds me of one evening several years ago. It was snowing, but in the location where I was, the streets were still clear. I tested my brakes, and the streets were simply wet. And then I crossed a micro-climate boundary, and the streets were suddenly slick.
Great user post combo.
One tip i got in drivers ed years ago: “When you’re driving in icy conditions, drive as if you don’t have any brakes. Because you don’t.”
I really like my AWD in winter because it is very good in snow. Agree not much help in ice.
Anecdote time: I was once in a group of guys in the hills of Connecticut, driving back from watching Superbowl at one of their parents’ place. Big heavy snow was coming down. As we went to the car to leave, I noticed that the driver was looking very nervously at the weather, and I suddenly remembered he was a Texan.
I took him aside. “Ever driven in heavy snow on winding hill roads before?” I asked.
He shook his head.
I volunteered to ride shotgun and to coach him.
Three tips were:
We got down safe and sound and he thanked me for the coaching.
I shoveled the drive, the sidewalk, and the sidewalks of both of my neighbors before sunrise. Wind chill about -30F (-34C).
While you lazy suckers were snuggled safe and warm in your beds 
And since you are not lazy surely you used a shovel instead of a snow blower or plow?
There was basically zero moisture. I probably could have used a leaf blower. Instead, I used this:
If there’s less than ~6" of snow, and if it isn’t really wet and heavy, this is the greatest thing since peanut butter.
Still monitoring the conditions – most roads have “slippery stretches”, looking at the cameras, visibility doesn’t look too bad --We will see what tomorrow brings. (I had an offer to travel today but that doesn’t work for various reasons)
I’m mainly worried about white-out and zero visibility…
Brian
ETA: event on Friday has ben cancelled. Definitely not travelling then.