Driving in January

[Lisa P00]

DH and I are driving from Chicago to Disney mid-January. The original plan was to fly, but after a very harrowing flight, I don't want to fly for a while. I was wondering if anyone could give us any idea about driving conditions through the mountains on I-75 in Tennessee. We have never driven this route in the winter. I'm now getting really concerned because a coworker told me that the roads through the mountains are horrible in winter and they've seen a lot of accidents driving through them. I know there's no way to predict the weather, but coming from Chicago, if it snows, or a threat of snow, they salt the roads right away so it can get a little rough, but nothing like what my coworker was talking about. Thanks for the help!

 

[dreiwhit]

I've been through the mountains in Tennessee in the winter time, including once when it snowed heavily, and the main roads and Interstates were fine. No problems getting through. You do need to watch the bridges, but trouble spots are sanded down.

However, further south, say Central Alabama and Central Georgia, when there is a rare winter snow or especially ice storm, traffic on the Interstates and main roads comes to a halt. The city, county and state road crews will put sand out on the bridges, but they aren't equipped to sand or salt all the roads. But, snow and ice storms are really rare here. The last snow & ice we had was in January 2014 and it was for two days only.

The best thing to do is to watch the weather before you go on your trip.

 

[LilyWDW]

Will 100% depend on the weather as you are going through. I used to live in the mountains of Tennessee and the roads up there can get messy in the winter if the weather is bad. Especially when it comes to ice. So keep an eye on the weather and adjust if you need to.

 

[Lisa P00]

Thanks for the help. That eases my mind a bit. My coworker made it sound as if the roads become so treacherous that they can't be driven on. My husband is a truck driver, so he says he isn't worried, but I want to be safe.

 

[KrazeeK120]

I live in Bloomington, so a little south of you. I've done that drive in mid-January (2014) and it was completely fine. My birthday is in mid-Jan, so off to Disney we went! I did the I75 mountains part of the drive (hubby gets Atlanta lol). There could always be a severe snow/ice storm just about anywhere north of FL, but I wouldn't say it's "generally" bad.

 

[Lisa P00]

I live in Bloomington, so a little south of you. I've done that drive in mid-January (2014) and it was completely fine. My birthday is in mid-Jan, so off to Disney we went! I did the I75 mountains part of the drive (hubby gets Atlanta lol). There could always be a severe snow/ice storm just about anywhere north of FL, but I wouldn't say it's "generally" bad.

That helps ALOT. Thanks. Probably just paranoia, but its a belated birthday trip for me, so I want it to go smooth as can be.

 

[loves to dive]

They keep I75 pretty clear so you shouldn't have much problem. The mountains can get icy so just watch the weather and take it easy if there has been a recent event. Check the state restrictions, some states don't allow snow tires or chains on the road.