I40, AR to AZ

[RickA71]

Anyone on here familiar with this route? How are the mountains? Weather this time of year? Pulling out of Arkansas tomorrow and I've been told to drop South to I10. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[brooks379]

No you're correct. The climb is east bound starting at Ash Fork. It's all down hill from Flagg to Seligman west bound. Calling for record high temps in NM today.... Mid 70's to mid 80's across I 40 today with more sun shine and blue bird sky's. Weather will change this weekend to 30's - 40's then up into the 50's and 60's through next week. Hope OP didn't drive 400 miles out of the way unless he just felt like it.

[tdsxt51]

garyemunson wrote:
Going West there's a serious climb up to Flagstaff that, at this time of year, can take you from a cloudy day into a full-on snowstorm. Watch the weather and be prepared to shift South if necessary.

I remember that climb going east on I40 towards Flagstaff; sure don't remember any grade to speak of going west on I40 towards Flagstaff. Am I forgetting something? It has been quite a few years since I've taken that route.

[brooks379]

Temps in the 70's today in the Land of Enchantment. Calling for the mid 70's Friday.....Blue skies and bright sunshine !!

[mileshuff]

A few weeks ago Flagstaff got 3 feet of snow and I-40 was a mess. Been warm since then but snow is forecast for the coming weekend.

[2gypsies1]

brooks379 wrote:
It's been bright and sunny in NM and AZ for a couple weeks now. I 40 all the way !!

... but a week ago Flagstaff, AZ had deep snow! You never know from day to day during the winter months.

Monitor the weather as you travel and be prepared to change course, if needed.

[Heisenberg]

ditto^

[brooks379]

It's been bright and sunny in NM and AZ for a couple weeks now. I 40 all the way !!

[artguys]

Using I 40 should be fine, yes you can find snow in Flagstaff but other than that due your due diligence on the weather as there are many opportunities to pull off and wait it out. There is no major grade work just rolling hills. The only major grade close to where you're headed is AZ 68 east of Bullhead City , better known as Union Pass.

[PawPaw_n_Gram]

I do not recommend US-67 from I-40 to McAllister OK. Horrible washboard road.

I would recommend either US 71 to Texarkana / I-30, or I-40 to I-44 in OKC to Wichita Falls. From there US-281 is a good road to I-20 south of Mineral Wells, or you can take a series of Texas and US highways to join 20 at Abilene. The roads are good.

If you do come to the Dallas/ Fort Worth area, stay on the outer loops, the south side freeways are best.

We drove AZ 95 from Bullhead City to Quartzsite in early Dec. it is a nice drive with not much traffic. While there are some grades, it is nothing like the grades on US-93.

[Kit_Carson]

RickA71 wrote:
We are going to Ft. Mojave for 3 months, after talking to a few people I think we are going to drop down to I20 and use it to connect with I10. I have 4wd but I worry more about someone else running into me plus 4wd helps you go but it doesn't help you stop. I think I10 will add about 400 miles but we don't have to be there until 12 Feb so we should be fine. Thank you all for the posts.

Smart move. Have a safe trip.

[RickA71]

We are going to Ft. Mojave for 3 months, after talking to a few people I think we are going to drop down to I20 and use it to connect with I10. I have 4wd but I worry more about someone else running into me plus 4wd helps you go but it doesn't help you stop. I think I10 will add about 400 miles but we don't have to be there until 12 Feb so we should be fine. Thank you all for the posts.

[garyemunson]

Going West there's a serious climb up to Flagstaff that, at this time of year, can take you from a cloudy day into a full-on snowstorm. Watch the weather and be prepared to shift South if necessary.

[artguys]

You don't say where in Arizona , it can make a difference .

[PawPaw_n_Gram]

Imho the worst mountain is the downgrade going into Albuquerque. (And upgrade headed east)

A month ago I didn't find I-10 through Arizona / New Mexico noticeably better grade wise across the continental divide. Yes, the elevation is a bit lower on I-10

The forecast for the next couple days doesn't expect anything precipitation in the mountains on either route. Temps will drop into the upper/ mid-20s in western New Mexico on I-40 and mid-lows 30s on I-10 - in the forecasts are correct.

If I were heading to Las Vegas tomorrow from Dallas, I'd go I-40, but be ready to head south on I-25 at Albuquerque if the weather forecast changed.