Los Angeles to Seatle..Questions

[mommyme26]

Hi All,
I have a question....we are planning on doing a trip from Los Angeles to Seattle toward the end of Dec thru the beginning of Jan. Can anyone share what I might expect in road conditions?? We are planning a 16 day trip, so plenty of time to stop and enjoy the sites!
Thx1

[Islandman]

No question about it, take US 101 north of San Francisco. It may be rainy at some locations, but you won't have to worry about road conditions or snow. Eat at the Samoa Cookhouse in Eureka, local folks will tell you how to get there. Oregon has fine SP's, we especially like Harris Beach on the north side of Brookings. You can turn back to I-5 from US 101 near Olympia, then take I-5 on up to Seattle. Make sure you visit the Museum of Flight when you're in the Seattle area, take your time and have a good trip!

[Z-Peller]

Across the Siskiyous you can expect to see snow. Depending on what is coming in from the Pacific it could be nothing on the roads to chains required anywhere from just north of Redding to Cottage Grove. If you do not want to carry chains, go up the coast on 101. On the coast you will guaranteed have lots of rain, but unlikely to have snow.

This pretty much most accurately answers your question. If travelling I-5 watch TV weather for storms moving in that will dump snow below 4500 ft. over the hump between Redding and Medford..... Google " I-5 corridor weather " to see temps forecast for towns along the way.

[mommyme26]

Thanks everyone! We will not be towing. We have a class C. We are going to both meet a new family member and we have always wanted to see the area. It is the only time we can go as a family!

[Orion]

I suppose there are quite a few people in the US that find the summer too hot. The whole eastern half of the continent, including much of southern Canada, can be oppressively hot & humid. In fact just a few weeks ago we were in Toronto and had the same heat & humidity readings as New Orleans. The big difference though is that Toronto will get these conditions for several consecutive days, several times during the summer, where as New Orleans is every day.
Even though we are almost 1000 miles north of San Francisco, we are often much warmer than them in the Summer. I've studied climate for quite a while now and find some of the figures fascinating. Who would have thunk that up here in the Great White North we get LESS days below 32F (10) than Bakersfield does (13) and in my books, that is Southern California!
The Seattle area DOES have a Mediterranean Climate, (officially COOL Mediterranean) which simply means mild winters, warm, but not hot summers, and a distinct winter maximum for rainfall and a summer minimum.
I am sure that Paulj has a similar frustration to myself with regard to our respective and similar climates. "How can you stand living in Seattle with all that rain all year long" and I get, "How can you stand all that snow and frigid temperatures way up there in Canada".

[msmith1199]

I never can figure out who writes those lists. They have San Francisco at number 3 for summer weather, and that's only true if you like cold and fog. Sure they have some nice cool sunny days, but summer is fog season and it can get cold. Mark Twain even said, "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco." I'd rank San Jose higher than SF because they get the fairly mild summer temps too, but without the fog.

[paulj]

While not applicable to the winter trip the OP is considering, but

LATIMES - Seattle tops list of cities with cool, comfortable summer weather

[msmith1199]

Yes, I'm sure a few days out of the year the weather is nicer in Seattle than it is in Los Angeles, but the climate of the two are not comparable. The only place in the US with a nicer climate than LA is San Diego! And I'd actually live in San Diego, I don't even like driving through Los Angeles.

[paulj]

http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2010/12/upcoming-drought.html
December 2010 was one year when Seattle was on the dry side, and Southern Californai was much wetter than usual.

http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2011/01/warm-wet-and-windy.html
But by the middle of the next mth (Jan 2011) Dr Mass was talking about a brief snow fall followed by a Pineapple Express. California, south and north, can be hit by one of those.

[msmith1199]

paulj wrote:
I did not claim that the climate, especially temperature ranges, was identical. Go back and read my post, the whole thing! Both are relatively dry and warm in the summer. Yes LA is warmer, but Seattle can have 60 day long dry spells in the summer. Both are relatively cool and wet in the winter.

I also take issue with the claim that there is no outdoor recreation in Seattle (or rest of Washington and Oregon) in January.

You said it had a Mediterranean climate "just like" LA. I simply pointed out it is nothing like LA, not even close. Just look at your own charts compared to the one from Anaheim. And who said there was no outdoor recreation in Seattle in January? I didn't see anybody make such a claim.

[paulj]

I did not claim that the climate, especially temperature ranges, was identical. Go back and read my post, the whole thing! Both are relatively dry and warm in the summer. Yes LA is warmer, but Seattle can have 60 day long dry spells in the summer. Both are relatively cool and wet in the winter.

I also take issue with the claim that there is no outdoor recreation in Seattle (or rest of Washington and Oregon) in January.

[msmith1199]

Here you go Paulj, compare Anaheim to Seattle. For whatever reason that website doesn't have a link for Los Angeles. And note the different scales on the sides of the charts:

Anaheim

[msmith1199]

You're comparing Seattle to Palomar Mountain which is in the coastal mountain range with the weather station at an altitude of over 6000 feet! Los Angeles and Seattle share the same ocean, but not the same climate. If they did there would be 10 million people in Seattle too.

[DaveG39]

We have traveled So Cal to Seattle twice in that time frame. Both times the I-5 was closed crossing the Siskiyous. One time required chains and escort. The other time was closed completely for a few days then chains and escort. In both cses we detoured at San Francisco to stay on 101 and drive the coast through Oregon, crossing back to I-5 from Astoria to Longview. I-5 very iffy during that time.

[path1]

In your planning be sure to look at "winter hours" for outdoor stuff.