Road Conditions Road Conditions Road conditions vary enormously from day to day and region to region within California. Some roads like US 395 span the state through desert, lush valleys, high mountain passes, and snow-covered plains. You may need both snow chains and air conditioning in the same hour while driving through areas like the Owens Valley.
High winds are also a common problem on the routes through mountains and passes.
This number is toll-free and very useful for checking on everything from whether a road has been closed due to snowfalls to whether road works in progress on a particular highway are causing delays or not. The main problems you'll face in California are likely to be fog, rain, snow, and ice. These are touched on below. This means that when it finally does rain, no one can remember how to drive in the wet conditions. Most Californian drivers aren't used to the reduced visibility and the greasy, ultra-slippery roads, and accidents are far more common.