Highway 1 Weather (El Nino)
Sep 30, 2015, 7:12 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 81
Highway 1 Weather (El Nino)
Hi all, i already decided that from the 1st to 4th of march 2016 i will be driving through highway 1.. but went through some forums and weather forecast sites..
they all say the coming march will have a bad weather and some storms!!
is this thing serious should i avoid highway 1? or maybe postpone?
they all say the coming march will have a bad weather and some storms!!
is this thing serious should i avoid highway 1? or maybe postpone?
Sep 30, 2015, 7:45 am
#2
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Central California
Programs: Former UA Premex, now dirt
Posts: 6,531
Too early to make plans around a "possible" El Nino year. We just don't know.
Even so, only the worst weather would cause me to skip that part of the trip. If it really becomes necessary, just shift east a few miles off the coast-hugging PCH to Highway 101 from Monterey and continue the drive. 101 is sheltered by mountains and makes for an easier if somewhat more boring drive. You could switch accommodations on the fly to someplace like Paso Robles and tour some missions like San Juan Bautista, San Luis Obispo or other alternate sites like the Gilroy Outlet Mall if you must miss the central coastal area.
In the event of a 100-year storm that caused problems on 101 (highly unlikely,) you could switch the drive over to Interstate 5 and miss the coastal weather completely. That would turn a beautiful drive (PCH) into just covering miles quickly with no scenery to speak of, so would be a last resort. But it would still get you there.
Nothing to panic about.
Even so, only the worst weather would cause me to skip that part of the trip. If it really becomes necessary, just shift east a few miles off the coast-hugging PCH to Highway 101 from Monterey and continue the drive. 101 is sheltered by mountains and makes for an easier if somewhat more boring drive. You could switch accommodations on the fly to someplace like Paso Robles and tour some missions like San Juan Bautista, San Luis Obispo or other alternate sites like the Gilroy Outlet Mall if you must miss the central coastal area.
In the event of a 100-year storm that caused problems on 101 (highly unlikely,) you could switch the drive over to Interstate 5 and miss the coastal weather completely. That would turn a beautiful drive (PCH) into just covering miles quickly with no scenery to speak of, so would be a last resort. But it would still get you there.
Nothing to panic about.
Sep 30, 2015, 10:49 pm
#4
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: SJC/SFO
Programs: WN A+ CP, UA 1MM/*A Gold, Mar LT Tit, IHG Plat, HH Dia
Posts: 6,284
Definitely too early right now to hit the panic button and cancel or change plans. Even if the widely anticipated El Nińo weather pattern prevails this winter, it doesn't mean rain of biblical proportions everyday. Pay attention to news a few days ahead of your drive to assess what the actual conditions will be. As noted above, only the severest weather will necessitate changing plans. Though you may choose to adjust your plans if you'd rather not drive a mountainous route on a rainy day. Keep in mind, too, that what Californians describe as "heavy" rain is considered moderate to light rainfall in many other parts of the world. In England what we call El Nińo would be called "English weather". 
Oct 1, 2015, 6:45 am
#7
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: PHX
Programs: UA *Alliance
Posts: 5,601
It's California. Postpone your trip to avoid potential weather five months away and you might have an earthquake while you're there, perhaps there's an accident that closes the road the day you want to drive it, who knows? As others said, just stick to your original plan but be flexible. If you try to avoid one thing perhaps you run into two or three other things that you couldn't have planned for.
Oct 2, 2015, 9:35 am
#10
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: SNA
Posts: 18,240
Definitely too early right now to hit the panic button and cancel or change plans. Even if the widely anticipated El Nińo weather pattern prevails this winter, it doesn't mean rain of biblical proportions everyday. Pay attention to news a few days ahead of your drive to assess what the actual conditions will be. As noted above, only the severest weather will necessitate changing plans. Though you may choose to adjust your plans if you'd rather not drive a mountainous route on a rainy day. Keep in mind, too, that what Californians describe as "heavy" rain is considered moderate to light rainfall in many other parts of the world. In England what we call El Nińo would be called "English weather".
Feb 3, 2016, 1:17 am
#12
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 81
highway 1 Weahter
i suppose to drive in highway 1 from SF to LA, will start the trip on 29 feb and stay in the highway for 4 days.. monterey 2 days - MB 1 day - Santa Barbra 1 day
i checked weather websites they all saying that the above dates will be rainy? can i still drive on highway 1 ? or they will close the highway? am worrying because i did all bookings and i dont want to postpone.
i checked weather websites they all saying that the above dates will be rainy? can i still drive on highway 1 ? or they will close the highway? am worrying because i did all bookings and i dont want to postpone.
Feb 3, 2016, 2:24 am
#13
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Central California
Programs: Former UA Premex, now dirt
Posts: 6,531
Highway 1 rarely closes except for things like landslides. Nobody can predict that. Right now, the weather in California is nice. I wouldn't change your plans or even worry about the weather until closer to your travel dates.
As I have posted before, there is an alternate route that will get you to all of those locations even if something bad happens on Highway 1. In the unlikely event something closed the route you could simply jump over to Highway 101 and continue the trip, adding an hour or two to the drive time. Just check the Caltrans road conditions site before starting a day's drive if you are concerned.
http://www.dot.ca.gov/cgi-bin/roads.cgi
I just looked and found that there is some ongoing road work on a few miles of Highway 1 from Ragged Point (south of Big Sur) to the San Luis Obispo county line (north of Morro Bay,) limiting traffic to one lane. That might slow you down a bit through that stretch, adding 10-20 minutes. I wouldn't think that would be much of a concern.
As I have posted before, there is an alternate route that will get you to all of those locations even if something bad happens on Highway 1. In the unlikely event something closed the route you could simply jump over to Highway 101 and continue the trip, adding an hour or two to the drive time. Just check the Caltrans road conditions site before starting a day's drive if you are concerned.
http://www.dot.ca.gov/cgi-bin/roads.cgi
I just looked and found that there is some ongoing road work on a few miles of Highway 1 from Ragged Point (south of Big Sur) to the San Luis Obispo county line (north of Morro Bay,) limiting traffic to one lane. That might slow you down a bit through that stretch, adding 10-20 minutes. I wouldn't think that would be much of a concern.
Feb 3, 2016, 10:16 am
#15
Moderator: Travel Safety/Security, Travel Tools, California, Los Angeles; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: LAX
Programs: oneword Emerald
Posts: 20,625
Moderator's Note:
Nothing has changed since you've previously asked this question and received numerous opinions in this thread:
It is too early to predict the exact weather conditions on Highway 1 in four weeks.
If you want to revisit the convertible discussion, do so in the thread where you first asked the question. There is no need to discuss the exact same topic in numerous threads.