I am driving from Minneapolis to Seattle on November 6. I have to be in Seattle by November 11. I am shipping my car to Hawaii, so have to make this drive. I plan to travel on 90 straight across, what will the weather be like in the mountains at this time of year, should I invest in tire chains? All advice is helpful
Reported for forum change to IMHO. That’s the forum to use when you’re seeking advice.
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Moving thread from General Questions to In My Humble Opinion.
It’s not just the mountains. Or have they upgraded the rusting barbed wire fence on the border stopping Canadian winds and weather?
Friends report snow has already arrived in western Montana. It doesn’t stick yet, but it’s only a matter of time. You can view the Montana weather and road cams here.
Are you doing 90 or 94? I think 94 is a little shorter. One thing to be aware of if you are doing 94 is that hotels are very expensive and often sold out in western North Dakota and easternmost Montana because of the oil boom, so don’t plan on stopping there. I think Miles City is sort of on the margins these days or else Billings (and points beyond) is fine.
Weather-wise, early November can really go either way. It might be glorious late Autumn in the mountains or it may already be in full winter mode. Checking the weather and road conditions would be a good idea pretty much along the whole route. The only reason you would need chains is if the western Washington passes are chain-restricted, but you can probably get away with waiting until you get to Spokane or Moses Lake and picking some up if it looks like you’ll need them, although don’t wait until Ellensburg since they might be sold out.
This probably won’t affect you and you may be fully aware anyway… in July I drove from Glacier NP eastbound and was totally unprepared for the boomtown activity in North Dakota. Didn’t even try to get a hotel room until I dropped down to Bismark and even then I ended up sleeping in my car in a rest area.
You may or may not need chains, but I would buy them and have them handy just to be safe. There are some fairly treacherous passes you’ll be going through which sometimes require chains. I’ve driven your route numerous times and generally not needed chains, but when you do need them, you really need them.