Should I drive 80?

Every hour NOAA's high resolution HRRR model is read at each mile of I-80, from Auburn at 1,200 ft over the 7,212 ft summit to Verdi. The temperature is moved from the model's ground to the road's own elevation, then rain or snow is decided at the road. Snow on the pavement builds when it falls faster than plows and traffic can clear it, melts above freezing, and a wet road that drops below freezing turns icy. For the first six hours the forecast is nudged toward what the stations on the road are reading right now.

The trip planner reads each mile at the time you would reach it, at 55 mph from the hour you pick. GO means a dry or wet road. CAUTION means slush, snow, ice, likely chain controls (R-1) or gusts over 45 mph somewhere between Colfax and Farad. NO-GO means heavy snow, likely R-2 chain controls or a closure. Caltrans chain controls and closures in effect right now always win over the forecast for the next two hours.

This is a forecast, not a road report. Check Caltrans QuickMap or call 511 for the official status, carry chains from November to April, and give the plows room. Official National Weather Service warnings take priority over anything here.