What wind speeds make you nervous?

[bpaikman]

We’re in a 35 ft diesel motorhome, flat-towing a small SUV, and have been staying in Lake City, a remote mountain town in Colorado, during the month of September. We planned to pull out Sunday and after crossing a couple of mountain passes, drive down to a valley town for a night, and go on to Santa Fe for a few days.
But the weather is changing rapidly. We saw predictions of 28 mph on Sunday, the day we planned to leave, and decided we don’t want to negotiate twisty mountain roads over 2 passes, in those conditions.
However, weather forecasts show winds up to 48 mph (for 2-3 hours) in the valley town where our next stop would be. If we’re staying put in a campground, and not parked crosswise to the wind, will we be ok? Seems we’d be pointed NNE and the winds will be from the south.
We’re going to be driving in stiff winds (27 mph) across a broad valley to Santa Fe on Monday, but I’m not seeing a better option.
So…Saturday - get through those mountains with winds <20 mph winds (to avoid 30 mph on Sunday).
Sunday - staying in an RV park in a flat valley with up to 48 mph winds on Sunday
Monday - traveling across deserts to Santa Fe, NM, winds possibly up to 30 mph winds. Not ideal but better than mountains.
What wind speeds make you nervous while moving? Camping? What kind of rig?

 

[Wemustrv]

WE drive a 40' Coachman Encore Diesel Pusher towing a Ford F150 SuperCrew. We have rolled in some pretty high winds at times not by choice. Headwinds and Tailwinds are not as bad as side wind gusts. You have to determine what you are comfortable with. I would say under 20 mph with caution is doable you must be very alert and look ahead to see how the landscape changes. Example coming out of a valley or from under a bridge to flat open ground plan for side gusts to hit you anticipate your adjustment ahead of time. Watch trees and flags to determine wind direction as you drive. It takes approximately a 15 knot wind to make an average size flag stand straight out.

 

[Joe Hogan]

RV setup and size make a difference regarding how much wind is comfortable. Gusts are usually a more important factor. I’ve driven in 30-40 mph winds quartering. Motor home handled it ok. Still white knuckle drive. The road was littered with over turned semi from the night before.
Gusts probably caused the over turned trucks or running empty Trailer.
This was between Albuquerque and Amarillo, I 40. Today even with a heavier RV, I would not do that again.

 

[Jim]

Caught the tail end of Hurricane Ian driving a 40' Phaeton across the bridges going over to Key West. I did not enjoy it at all and I won't make that mistake again. As mentioned above, it's those unexpected side blasts that are the worst.

 

[bpaikman]

We were driving in Wyoming one year …came over a hill and heading down we got hit with a gust so strong it sent us into the other lane. Fortunately, no one was there! Sometimes we see warning signs posted about high winds, but I didn’t see such a sign that area.

 

[bpaikman]

We made it over the mountains today and the winds were not bad at all. I see flags etc. indicating that there is definitely winds in the area but it’s not seeming to bother us. However they’re projected to get up to 48 mph tomorrow - we might notice that. But will be stationary.

 

[sheridany]

At that wind speed you may want to bring your slides in as those slide toppers will be making some noise. Not idea but better than having to hear it.

 

[HowLin]

Where do y'all get your wind information?

 

[sheridany]

‎Drive Weather: Road Conditions

‎Drive Weather takes the guesswork out of planning your trip by showing you exactly when and where the bad weather is! It displays weather forecasts based on your departure time and route, so you can make informed decisions while on the road. The Drive Weather app provides real-time updates on...

apps.apple.com

Drive Weather app.

 

[HowLin]

‎Drive Weather: Road Conditions

‎Drive Weather takes the guesswork out of planning your trip by showing you exactly when and where the bad weather is! It displays weather forecasts based on your departure time and route, so you can make informed decisions while on the road. The Drive Weather app provides real-time updates on...

apps.apple.com

Drive Weather app.

‎Drive Weather: Road Conditions

‎Drive Weather takes the guesswork out of planning your trip by showing you exactly when and where the bad weather is! It displays weather forecasts based on your departure time and route, so you can make informed decisions while on the road. The Drive Weather app provides real-time updates on...

apps.apple.com

Drive Weather app.

Thanks - looks good!

 

[sanda]

70 mph side wind took 10 years off my life. No place to pull off for 30+ miles. Empty semis blown over ahead of us. Finally found a small rest area and backed into the wind. That was about 15 years ago when we didn't have access to as good weather forecasts as we do today.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Used to say I am a fair weather sailor! I don't like stressing equipment, I don't like stressing passengers, I don't like putting out proverbial fires.
If there is a chance I will be thrown into oncoming traffic, I won't test my skills to see if "I can".

I plan around weather, never a schedule! I have no heart palpitations, no ulcers, and am not a nervous wreck! I like it that way, I won't ask others what they think! My comfort level is likely different than theirs.

 

[bpaikman]

70 mph side wind took 10 years off my life. No place to pull off for 30+ miles. Empty semis blown over ahead of us. Finally found a small rest area and backed into the wind. That was about 15 years ago when we didn't have access to as good weather forecasts as we do today.

Good heavens, I wouldn’t have thought that possible!

 

[Bob K4TAX]

Where do y'all get your wind information?

Ventusky - Weather Forecast Maps

Live wind, rain, radar or temperature maps, more than 50 weather layers, detailed forecast for your place, data from the best weather forecast models with high resolution

www.ventusky.com

 

[Fish]

I check accuweather and weather.com, if it's storms I just stay where I am until the next day.

I got caught by a not forecasted storm on I10 west of Tallahassee a few years ago. 60+ mile an hour wind gusts and nowhere to pull over because it was raining so hard if I pulled over I'd have been hit from behind. It was pushing my Camelot onto the shoulder. It came out of nowhere.

After 8 miles of that finally a rest area and we pulled in. 3 minutes later it quit. 5 minutes later my phone started blaring with a severe weather alert. A little late there accuweather.

I sat there for about 15 minutes just gathering my wits.

 

[Joe Hogan]

Wind can be very scary, out of no where….

Our Motorhome was Destroyed

February 26th through March 2nd, 2023 We left Las Cruces, New Mexico, in our 2019 Newmar Dutch Star 4369. Life was amazing, and we were blissfully happy. There was some wind in the forecast, but nothing we were too worried…

mnmgo.com

 

[LMHS]

I also have road condition apps for several states on my phone and tablet (plus bookmarked on my laptop). Just go to the app store you prefer and type in "(state) road conditions app". It's not just wind that you have to watch out for.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Honestly? That depends. On the boat the answer would be about 40 MPH and Idon't enjoy being out there. On land I don't enjoy anything over 20MPH only because I don't like dust storms.