Westbound and Down

Rainwater that froze onto my car as I drove

just north of Birmingham, Alabama.

Never have I ever driven in sleet or winter weather, until I drove from DC to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Whenever forecasters predicted winter weather conditions in the Deep South, I didn't bother to drive; places like Mississippi and Alabama don't keep salt or grit for the roads and bridges because it's a waste of money. It's cheaper to bunker down and endure the cold for a couple days once every couple of years. As I looked on weather maps at the snow approaching the Appalachia and Virginia, I decided that I had a small window of opportunity to get on the roads and out of Maryland/DC/Virginia before the roads got worse. My original path would have taken me along I-95 towards Richmond, Greensboro, Charlotte, and Atlanta, but my uncle told me that traffic would be frustrating in these cities. The longer route took me through the heart of the Appalachia on I-81 through Roanoke, Bristol, Knoxville, and Birmingham. These towns are much smaller and would have less traffic.

My alarm went off at 3:30 am so that I could get on the road by 4 am. My goal was to get to Mississippi in one day instead of getting a hotel somewhere along the way. A start after 4 am could mean I get caught in traffic while leaving Maryland through DC's Beltway. These roads were incredibly smooth even though the amount of traffic at this hour still surprised me. As the sunrise was over my left shoulder, I was already in the middle of the hill-like Appalachian mountains near Harrisonburg. Continuing south I listened to Oliver Twist on CD and saw the snow-covered terrain in southwestern Virginia and eastern Tennessee. I became more cautious as I saw the white stuff on the ground, but it appeared as if the storm had already passed through this area. The further south I went the more likely the warmer temperature would heat the precipitation into simple rain. Whenever crossing bridges I would look to see if I saw ice on them. Once I was near Knoxville the ground was brown and green again. My mom called me as I was near Chattanooga to tell me that there was a lot of freezing rain in northern Mississippi and Alabama; apparently, there had been some deaths. The sky around me looked clear, and there was little other choice than to keep going. As long as the Interstate was busy, the constant traffic and sunlight would keep the bridges warm enough to prevent ice buildup. Once I crossed the Alabama border, the weather became worse. For the first time ever I drove through white stuff, but only for a few minutes. Then the rain froze onto my car. I first noticed it on my windshield wipers. I turned the heat up and shot washer fluid constantly to keep my windshield and wipers from freezing. Everything south of Birmingham looked clear, so my goal was to keep going. Thankfully, I had no problems other than seeing ice all over my car as I drove. Once south of Birmingham and approaching Montgomery, it seemed silly to stop for the night since I was already so close; I kept driving until I was past Mobile and in Ocean Springs, Mississippi.

According to Google maps, my drive from Maryland to the Mississippi Gulf Coast should have taken 17.5 hours. I did it in 16 hours with only quick stops to buy gas and snacks. The Commonwealth of Virginia recently increased the speed limit from 65 to 70 mph, so maybe that helped me get home quicker than Google predicted. It was still an exhausting drive, but at least now I know I can do it.

For the next day or so, the weather along the roads I took kept getting worse. It looks like I got out of there in the nick of time. If I had left a day later, the snow would have pounded me all the way from Maryland to northern Alabama, though this weather was probably not enough to cause much alarm, especially since I had recently seen a bunch of snow in Scotland. My Wyoming friend would probably laugh at the weather. My concern wasn't so much what kind of precipitation I faced but whether or not the roads would be clear. Still, I don't foresee myself driving through what my Wyoming friend has described.