Going south IN the winter...

30 years of winter travel between SE Michigan and Oklahoma and Texas, five years winter travel Michigan to the Carolinas or Florida, five years Chicago to and from Detroit. Most of the time the roads are reasonably clear, and when we could, we timed our travel days to not be traveling during a storm. If the roads were icy, we stopped; that happened maybe three times.

A couple of times we've been stranded by blizzard conditions and couldn't even get started until highways were cleared and re-opened; that happens more often the further south you get because those states don't keep road clearing equipment for rare events. But these are rare events, and weather forecasting is a whole lot better than 30-40 years ago.

Most of the time winter weather south of the Ohio River is pretty mild, although it tends to be wet.

Other than that, I've found it pretty miserable trying to pump gas when it is below 10F and there is a 20 mph wind blowing, but that's more the Great Plains than mid-South.

Pick a couple of clear days and drive south hard and fast as possible. One day will get you to Kentucky. Another day will get you past Atlanta. You will just have to be flexible on your dates and be willing to stay put and wait out the weather if needed.

Remember that once you get south of IL, snow removal and road crews are thin on the ground. The good news is that main roads will generally clear up fast when the traffic begins to roll.

You can check conditions through TN by looking at TDOT Smartway (just google it). You get a map showing traffic flow and incidents, and can zoom into the area of the state you are interested in.

I wouldn't put anything but clothing, bedding, and dry goods in the trailer until you hit the FL line, and then keep an eye on the weather forecast.

Mickeyfan0805 wrote:
What are the concerns or issues? Do you find that travel is miserable because of weather?

Modern weather forecasting is quite good.
And thanks to the Internet, you can get information on anyplace in a matter of a few seconds.

When planning, do NOT back yourself into a corner.
If the weather is going to be nasty anywhere along your route, reschedule or don't go. Simple.

Getting into a situation where you think you HAVE to go can be bad for your health.

What if you get there and can't get back ??

We left eastern Ontario in early January - never again; packing up when it's 20 below with a wicked wind is no fun. Then, even though I had been watching the weather every ten minutes for a month, we ran into lake effect snow from Watertown to Syracuse - whiteout conditions, a dozen vehicles in the ditch, white knuckling it for almost two hours. Then, when we stopped for the night in a motel, having to drag everything that might freeze into the room, then back out in the morning...
I'm going for a nice trip this fall, put the fiver in storage somewhere south, then pick it up on the way south.