New game: let's get RU848789 from Charlotte, NC to Jersey w/o getting crushed by snow...

[RU848789]

Just got to Charlotte yesterday afternoon, figuring the storm was a miss, based on the Thursday morning models/discos. Then all hell breaks loose last night and we're game on for PostChristmassnowmageddon2010. Was originally going to drive back home late Sunday or early Monday - obviously that's out and I'd rather try to get home before the storm (both to see it and attend to things like shoveling and ensuring no damage, as we've had a history of ice dams on our roof and leakage into the house, so I usually shovel a mostly flat section of the roof that is the worst offender, for big snows) than wait until probably Tuesday for the major highways to be cleared.

So, here's my initial thought: leave Charlotte around 3-4 am, after the snow is mostly done here - they're expecting 3-5" in the Charlotte to Greensboro areas from about now through 3-5 am and I'm hoping they can at least have 485/85 relatively clear by then. Was figuring on then taking US 220 north from Greensboro to Roanake, in order to bypass having to take I-77 up and over the NC/VA mountains, which are slotted for snowier/colder conditions and could be really tough to navigate in the wee hours. Problem is 220 might not be addressed by snow removal crews as well as 77 - anyone have any thoughts on which route is better for having snow removed?

Either way, assuming I can get to I-81 in Roanake by 6-7 am, was hoping that I-81 won't be bad (only calling for intermittent light snow during the morning hours north of Roanake) all the way up to Harrisburg, maybe getting there by 11-12, then hoping 78 isn't too bad before 2 pm, when I'd hope to be back in the Edison, NJ area, just before the heavy stuff moves in. Really don't even want to think about taking 85 east to 95 and up the coast between 6 am and noon, through NC and SE VA, which I think will be getting hammered. Am I completely nuts for even thinking of trying this? Any other advice? Thanks...

[friedmators]

Just got to Charlotte yesterday afternoon, figuring the storm was a miss, based on the Thursday morning models/discos. Then all hell breaks loose last night and we're game on for PostChristmassnowmageddon2010. Was originally going to drive back home late Sunday or early Monday - obviously that's out and I'd rather try to get home before the storm (both to see it and attend to things like shoveling and ensuring no damage, as we've had a history of ice dams on our roof and leakage into the house, so I usually shovel a mostly flat section of the roof that is the worst offender, for big snows) than wait until probably Tuesday for the major highways to be cleared.

So, here's my initial thought: leave Charlotte around 3-4 am, after the snow is mostly done here - they're expecting 3-5" in the Charlotte to Greensboro areas from about now through 3-5 am and I'm hoping they can at least have 485/85 relatively clear by then. Was figuring on then taking US 220 north from Greensboro to Roanake, in order to bypass having to take I-77 up and over the NC/VA mountains, which are slotted for snowier/colder conditions and could be really tough to navigate in the wee hours. Problem is 220 might not be addressed by snow removal crews as well as 77 - anyone have any thoughts on which route is better for having snow removed?

Either way, assuming I can get to I-81 in Roanake by 6-7 am, was hoping that I-81 won't be bad (only calling for intermittent light snow during the morning hours north of Roanake) all the way up to Harrisburg, maybe getting there by 11-12, then hoping 78 isn't too bad before 2 pm, when I'd hope to be back in the Edison, NJ area, just before the heavy stuff moves in. Really don't even want to think about taking 85 east to 95 and up the coast between 6 am and noon, through NC and SE VA, which I think will be getting hammered. Am I completely nuts for even thinking of trying this? Any other advice? Thanks...

Be safe man, ill hold down the fort while you travel. I live in the house with the digital lights display across from charlie browns! I would have left already.

[Allsnow]

I really hope you can make it home for this...drive safe pal

[ScottB]

Just got to Charlotte yesterday afternoon, figuring the storm was a miss, based on the Thursday morning models/discos. Then all hell breaks loose last night and we're game on for PostChristmassnowmageddon2010. Was originally going to drive back home late Sunday or early Monday - obviously that's out and I'd rather try to get home before the storm (both to see it and attend to things like shoveling and ensuring no damage, as we've had a history of ice dams on our roof and leakage into the house, so I usually shovel a mostly flat section of the roof that is the worst offender, for big snows) than wait until probably Tuesday for the major highways to be cleared.

So, here's my initial thought: leave Charlotte around 3-4 am, after the snow is mostly done here - they're expecting 3-5" in the Charlotte to Greensboro areas from about now through 3-5 am and I'm hoping they can at least have 485/85 relatively clear by then. Was figuring on then taking US 220 north from Greensboro to Roanake, in order to bypass having to take I-77 up and over the NC/VA mountains, which are slotted for snowier/colder conditions and could be really tough to navigate in the wee hours. Problem is 220 might not be addressed by snow removal crews as well as 77 - anyone have any thoughts on which route is better for having snow removed?

Either way, assuming I can get to I-81 in Roanake by 6-7 am, was hoping that I-81 won't be bad (only calling for intermittent light snow during the morning hours north of Roanake) all the way up to Harrisburg, maybe getting there by 11-12, then hoping 78 isn't too bad before 2 pm, when I'd hope to be back in the Edison, NJ area, just before the heavy stuff moves in. Really don't even want to think about taking 85 east to 95 and up the coast between 6 am and noon, through NC and SE VA, which I think will be getting hammered. Am I completely nuts for even thinking of trying this? Any other advice? Thanks...

Sounds ridiculously intense... I hate driving in the snow with a few inches and I have awd, yet alone in this mess. I'm from Edison too, seems like we have a bunch of people in the area on here.

Either way, stay safe and let us know what you choose to do

[RU848789]

Just got to Charlotte yesterday afternoon, figuring the storm was a miss, based on the Thursday morning models/discos. Then all hell breaks loose last night and we're game on for PostChristmassnowmageddon2010. Was originally going to drive back home late Sunday or early Monday - obviously that's out and I'd rather try to get home before the storm (both to see it and attend to things like shoveling and ensuring no damage, as we've had a history of ice dams on our roof and leakage into the house, so I usually shovel a mostly flat section of the roof that is the worst offender, for big snows) than wait until probably Tuesday for the major highways to be cleared.

So, here's my initial thought: leave Charlotte around 3-4 am, after the snow is mostly done here - they're expecting 3-5" in the Charlotte to Greensboro areas from about now through 3-5 am and I'm hoping they can at least have 485/85 relatively clear by then. Was figuring on then taking US 220 north from Greensboro to Roanake, in order to bypass having to take I-77 up and over the NC/VA mountains, which are slotted for snowier/colder conditions and could be really tough to navigate in the wee hours. Problem is 220 might not be addressed by snow removal crews as well as 77 - anyone have any thoughts on which route is better for having snow removed?

Either way, assuming I can get to I-81 in Roanake by 6-7 am, was hoping that I-81 won't be bad (only calling for intermittent light snow during the morning hours north of Roanake) all the way up to Harrisburg, maybe getting there by 11-12, then hoping 78 isn't too bad before 2 pm, when I'd hope to be back in the Edison, NJ area, just before the heavy stuff moves in. Really don't even want to think about taking 85 east to 95 and up the coast between 6 am and noon, through NC and SE VA, which I think will be getting hammered. Am I completely nuts for even thinking of trying this? Any other advice? Thanks...

Well, after eating Christmas dinner and then looking at radars/obs across much of NC/VA, I came to the same conclusion friedmator did - get out of Dodge ASAP - and not trying to go up 77N or 220 back to 81, as we had friends along those routes who said things were already pretty bad, as confirmed by observations from those areas. So, we left Charlotte around 7:30 pm and headed NE on 485 to 85N and we did hit some dicey conditions for a couple of hours with temps around 30-31F and moderate/heavy snowfall, with snow accumulating on the roadway, a bit - fortunately, temps were just wam enough, especially with the heat input from traffic, to prevent the 3-5" on the grass/trees from being on the highway - we were able to average 50-60 mph until we hit around Greensboro, where the precip was lighter and there was much less snow on the ground. Snow was falling, but not accumulating on the highway, so we were able to do 70-75 mph from there through Durham and up most of 85N. There were a few spots along 85N where we had to gear it down to 60-65 mph in heavier snowbands, but the roads never got to be horrible. Then, as I had hoped, by the time we got to Richmond, we had caught up with the northern edge of the storm and travel from there northward along 95 through DC was pretty good and then from DC northward it was completely dry. Had to stop a couple of times along the way to nap for 20-30 minutes, but we got home safely around 6:30 am (about 10.0 hours of driving time, not counting the naps - not horrible, although a heckuva lot longer than the 8.5 hours of driving time on the way down in dry conditions).

Friedmator - I know exactly where you live, lol, as we ate at CB's the other night and saw the lights - looks good. Thanks to you Allsnow and Scott for the best wishes. Just got up after a nice snooze and it just started snowing here in Metuchen around 11 am. Radar making it look like there could be a sharp cutoff to the NW, maybe along the Delaware or just west of there, but looks like we're going to get hammered, which will be awesome.

[Allsnow]

im glad you made it.....ur def a snow lover to do all that.....looks like our area is going to be the sweet spot

[NickD2011]

You're lucky the storm underperformed in VA/NC. Of course once you had hit the northern edge of the precip shield it would be smooth sailing till you're home.

My friend in western South Carolina, about 1-2 hours from Charlotte, was almost going to stay home from work today because of 2 inches of snow. I thought she was crazy to be afraid to drive in that little snow.