I-5 in march?

[*RJ*]

We're looking ahead to a couple of different dates to visit DL next year, one being in late March. We would be driving from Vancouver and were wondering what the road conditions are usually like on the I-5 at that time of year...would we still have to worry about snow? We've only ever done the drive in August. Thanks for any info!

 

[DLgal]

We're looking ahead to a couple of different dates to visit DL next year, one being in late March. We would be driving from Vancouver and were wondering what the road conditions are usually like on the I-5 at that time of year...would we still have to worry about snow? We've only ever done the drive in August. Thanks for any info!

Maybe, at the higher elevations. No one knows what next year will bring but this year in March there were several major storms that brought snow. You should carry tire chains or cables anytime you might encounter snow on a road trip.

 

[chickapin parterre]

snow is an issue. I think it snowed on the valley floor in March, but I can't find any data, but I do know that the first three months of 2017 were very poor weather condition months. But another issue is congestion and don't plan on a hour by hour drive schedule from Washington /oregon Border to Eugene Oregon. If you hit portland between 11:00 am and 1:30 pm, then there should be no problem. Portland traffic is only dependable between those two and half hours, after that or before that it is a mess. And once you are south of Salem, there is way too much traffic for that two lane freeway. And if it is raining, than that is compounded. so if you don't like snow, then there is the coast hwy for an extra day of travel, though if it is storming in the passess, then it is pounding rain on the coast.

 

[Nonsuch]

OT: It's snowing right now in Tahoe. Weather is just crazy

 

[chickapin parterre]

yep, it is colder in Yuma, AZ then in NYC, the national map was way out of wack, though here in oregon are june weather is normal , low 70s, the way we like it.

 

[bcla]

Most of the time it's uneventful, but there's always the chance that you run into some sort of once every 25 years freak occurrence. Even the Portland ice storms were over by February. By March the chances of any kind of weather delay are minimal. I certainly wouldn't worry about carrying chains. Definitely over Tejon Pass (The Grapevine) there's no place to put them on. If the conditions are such that it's too snowy or icy, they'll just shut down the road completely until conditions improve.

http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist6/opsnowflake/guide.pdf

Who decides when to close I-5?
The California Highway Patrol (CHP) with concurrence from the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) makes this decision. Closures on the Grapevine as well as other mountain roads are designed to avoid a worst-case scenario and are based on road conditions as opposed to the experience level of individual drivers.

Why are chains not allowed on the Grapevine, as is the case on I-80 over Donner Pass?
Since the snow and icy conditions are often limited to the summit, a location for the removal of chains would have to be made available and this is not viable due to the traffic volumes. This can make driving all the more dangerous when it does snow because drivers who don't travel through the Grapevine regularly would not be carrying chains, not expect snow, nor have much experience driving in it.

Other differences between the two passes are the grades and traffic volumes. The Grapevine is 6% grade for 5 miles, while Donner Pass is 3-6% grade for 30 miles.​

I'd be more worried about running into rush hour (or just paling bad) traffic. There are various choke points on I-5, including around Seattle, Portland/Vancouver, Sacramento, and Southern California. You can get an idea what it's like with traffic monitoring.

https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/seattle/
https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/vancouver/
https://www.sigalert.com/map.asp?lat=38.59487&lon=-121.52709&z=0
https://www.go511.com

 

[DL_Forever]

There was snow in Mount Shasta (on I-5 in Northern California) until about late April this year. California had a drought for the last 5 or 6 years, so typically I think you'd be ok. However the weather has been so unpredictable this year it is hard to say what will happen next year.

 

[GrandBob]

Most of the time it's uneventful, but there's always the chance that you run into some sort of once every 25 years freak occurrence. Even the Portland ice storms were over by February. By March the chances of any kind of weather delay are minimal. I certainly wouldn't worry about carrying chains. Definitely over Tejon Pass (The Grapevine) there's no place to put them on. If the conditions are such that it's too snowy or icy, they'll just shut down the road completely until conditions improve.

I couldn't disagree more. You should definitely carry chains. Not for the Tejon pass (Grapevine), which is easily circumvented anyway. But for Oregon and Northern California -- particularly the pass over the Siskiyou's on the Oregon/California border. Snow through Easter or later is not uncommon. Even the portion of I-5 past Mt Shasta, as noted by DL_Forever, can be problematical. Chains don't take much space -- please carry them.

Bob

 

[bcla]

I couldn't disagree more. You should definitely carry chains. Not for the Tejon pass (Grapevine), which is easily circumvented anyway. But for Oregon and Northern California -- particularly the pass over the Siskiyou's on the Oregon/California border. Snow through Easter or later is not uncommon. Even the portion of I-5 past Mt Shasta, as noted by DL_Forever, can be problematical. Chains don't take much space -- please carry them.

Bob

I still wouldn't worry about it enough to buy chains in advance. If necessarily one could just check the conditions and then purchase chains somewhere along the way.

My recommendation for a place to get chains is AutoZone. They're about the only major auto parts retailer (or discount store) that allows returns of unused chains. They also have stores all over the West Coast, which would make it easier for returns. When we got chains at an AutoZone in Lake Tahoe, we were able to return them at a store close to home.