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Fuel and costs

Corridor Weather: Lost Days by Lane and Month

Los Angeles to Dallas has 0.3 snow days in January and 30.8 days at 90 F in July. NOAA 30-year normals on 12 freight corridors, with a lost-day example on invented costs.

5 min read

Column chart of snow days by month on Chicago to Boston, tallest in January at 7.5 days and zero from May to September7.5Jan5.5Feb3.6Mar0.8AprMayJunJulAugSepOct2.1Nov6.0DecChicago to Boston: snow days by month, worst waypoint

Why this matters. Los Angeles to Dallas sees at most 0.3 days with an inch of snow in January. In July, Phoenix on the same lane averages 30.8 days at 90 F or more. The lane did not change. The risk did. A delivery promise that works in one month can fail in another, and the tables below show which months to watch on which lane.

Normals, not a forecast

NOAA publishes 30-year average days per month for one airport station per metro. They miss mountain passes and the road between metros, and snow data is blank for some stations. Use them to decide where to build slack into a schedule, not whether to drive today. Check the National Weather Service forecast and the state 511 service before a winter run. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020, retrieved Oct 10, 2026.

Snow: the winter lanes

Each cell is the highest 30-year average among the waypoint metros on that corridor, in days with 1 inch or more of snow. The worst waypoint sets your slack, even when the rest of the lane is dry.

Days with 1 inch or more of snow, worst waypoint on each corridor
CorridorJanMarNovDec
Chicago to Boston7.53.62.16.0
Denver to Seattle3.62.32.13.8
Seattle to Minneapolis3.32.72.23.3
Chicago to Dallas3.61.50.52.2
Memphis to Philadelphia2.81.00.41.7
Houston to Atlanta0.40.10.00.2
Los Angeles to Dallas0.30.20.10.4

Source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020, as shown on the corridor weather planner. Seven of 12 corridors and four of 12 months shown. The worst single figure on any corridor is 7.5 days: Chicago to Boston in January, at Buffalo.

Heat: the summer lanes

Heat matters for reefer fuel, tires and driver hours. The southern lanes hold their worst for three months in a row.

Days at 90 F or more, worst waypoint on each corridor
CorridorJunJulAug
Los Angeles to Dallas29.430.830.7
Laredo to Minneapolis29.430.330.7
Chicago to Dallas22.328.727.6
Houston to Atlanta23.127.327.1
Miami to Chicago16.223.824.7
Chicago to Boston4.16.53.8

Source: same NOAA normals. Six of 12 corridors shown. A cell near 30 means almost every day of the month.

Chicago to Boston shows both sides of the point. It carries the highest snow figure of any corridor in winter and the lowest heat figure of those listed in summer.

Lanes with two bad seasons

Some lanes are not safe in either half of the year. Here is the worst month for snow and for heat on six corridors from the tables above.

Worst snow month and worst heat month on six corridors
CorridorWorst snow monthWorst heat month
Chicago to DallasJan, 3.6 daysJul, 28.7 days
Laredo to MinneapolisJan, 3.3 daysAug, 30.7 days
Miami to ChicagoJan, 3.6 daysAug, 24.7 days
Denver to SeattleDec, 3.8 daysJul, 24.3 days
Seattle to MinneapolisJan and Dec, 3.3 daysJul, 13.7 days
Chicago to BostonJan, 7.5 daysJul, 6.5 days

Source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020 via the corridor weather planner. Snow is days with 1 inch or more; heat is days at 90 F or more.

Laredo to Minneapolis has 3.3 snow days in January and 30.7 hot days in August. Pad the schedule for both, and compare the two with your own cost of a lost day.

Turning days into dollars

The planner's rule: expected days = days on the road x average share of the month at the waypoints with data. Cost = expected days x the share of such days that really stop you x the cost of a lost day. The last two are your own figures. Here are two lanes in winter on the same invented inputs: 6 days on the lane, 25% of such days stop the truck, $450 a lost day.

Example data: expected lost days and cost for 6 days on the lane
Lane and monthWaypoint snow days (1 in. or more)AverageExpected daysExpected cost
Chicago to Boston, JanChicago 3.6, Cleveland 5.8, Buffalo 7.5, Boston 3.55.10.99$111.05
Denver to Seattle, DecSalt Lake City 3.8, Boise 1.7, Portland 0.5, Seattle 0.6 (Denver blank)1.650.32$35.93

Invented trip inputs. Expected days = 6 x average / 31 days. Cost = expected days x 25% x $450. NOAA leaves Denver's snow-day normal blank, so the figure uses the four waypoints with data.

Two things show in the table. The average sits well under the worst waypoint (5.1 against 7.5), so cost uses the average and schedule slack uses the worst. And a blank station quietly changes a lane's average, which is why the planner tells you how many waypoints each result uses.

What to do with it

  • Pad the schedule in the months the table darkens. A promise that works in June can fail on the same lane in January.
  • Price the lost day. If you do not know your cost per day, work it out with the cost per mile tool.
  • Watch both ends of the scale. Heat and cold change cost as well as time: reefer run hours, tire wear and idling.
  • Do not use normals on the day. A single winter can be far above or below them.

Common questions

  • Why are corridors straight lines on the map? The map draws a line between waypoint metros. It is not the road, and the weather figures are for the airport stations at those metros.
  • Why are some waypoints missing? NOAA leaves snow-day normals blank for some stations: Denver, Laredo, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Sacramento.

The corridor weather planner covers 36 metros on 12 corridors, with a month and measure picker and the lost-day calculator. If a weather delay never made it onto an invoice, send us your last 20 loads and we will check.

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