1) Rent the movie Fargo to see what it looks like in winter out there2) When your driving cross country in winter on any interstate that is I-40 and north it is critically important to the rest of your life that you be able to comfortably live out of your car for two days .....regardless of outside weather and temps.-You can use every hi-tech toy at your disposal to avoid getting caught out there But if a semi or two gets sideways and rolls over on a snowy road ,you are stuck where you are until they clean up the messCarry Tire chains that are the right size for your car...and know how to install themVotive candles -the ones in the glass jars -b/c in addition to providing light they will also provide a bit of heat2 gallons of windshield washer fluid /w anti freezeEnough cans of Dry-gas to add one at every fill-up Good sunglasses because the combination of snow +sun+driving west can be literally blindingA good tire pressure gauge When tires get really cold two thing happen 1)The pressure inside them drops 2) They lose their flexibility If early one below zero morning you hit a pothole that you didn t see with tire that is at 20 psi , you may very well blow that tire right off of the rim and I can tell from experience that changing a tire at those temps truly sucksA pee can-a screw top plastic ground coffe container works A snow shovel A big bag of el-cheapo cat litter for tractionI think that the crossing of the Northern Plains is actually more dangerous than crossing the Rockies is b/c it does get really empty out there Lastly If you find yourself with twodays of clear cold weather to drive in then cover as many miles as you possibly can before it gets weird againUpdate :To add to what mcc wrote:If you go I-15S I-80W I-84W I-5N youeliminate crossing the Rockies thru mountains and going up an over the Cascades. Ask the folks in the Portland section what the driving thru the Columbia River Gorge is like in winterOOPS tired typo That should read I-55S I-80W
It s going to be treacherous at best. Driving the northern tier anytime between October 31st and May 1st is a gamble. If you re not used to driving in snow and icy conditions don t! Your company cannot force you to drive. If it s company business, they must provide transportation. If you ve been going on business trips, using your own vehicle and not being reimbursed, you re being used!
It can be difficult crossing the mountain passes in January. If there is heavy snow, sometimes they restrict the road to 4WD vehicles and/or require all vehicles to put on chains. Traffic can also get backed up for miles. This only happens when the snow is really heavy, though. Just check the weather reports to make sure no major snowstorms are passing through and you should be fine.But it is a terribly long and boring drive. I would definitely fly unless that is absolutely not an option.
Get some chains. It s possible that you won t be allowed to cross the mountain passes without them. If you don t use them, you can return them, and get your money back. Once you get to the West side of Snoqualmie Pass in Washington, there will likely be just rain.
Why don t you take the train - safer and usually can go through ALTHOUGH in very cold weather they go quite slow.On I90 through MN and south dakota - they sometimes pull the plows and shut down the freeway if the snow is blowing. Can t imagine Montana or the Mt s in Idaho and eastern WA would be any better.If you HAVE to drive - stay farther south and then go up from CA but keep in mind that an inch of snow that we would not even notice in Chicago or Mpls - will shut down cities like Portland for days. I was out there late jan a couple of years ago and a little bit of snow and stores and businesses closed - it was a mess.