Mojave desert in the rain. Stay home or full speed ahead?

[AustyPosty]

Hi! I’ve planned a 6 day Mojave desert trip for this 23rd to 28th. So a Thursday to Tuesday. The weather channel is saying a 30 percent chance of rain on Thursday and Friday and a 90% chance of snow on Saturday. My question is, is the Mojave a place you want to avoid in the rain/snow? Do you think this weekend will be a bad time to go? I’m
Not a fair weather camper but I also don’t want to go if it’s potentially dangerous(such as Death Valley last year in august). I’ve never been the Mojave so I genuinely don’t know, pardon my not knowing.

 

[pluton]

I would not avoid the Mojave Desert just because rain/snow is forecast.
I would...and have...avoided going to the Mojave if high (and cold) winds are forecast. That's my preference.
I have been in various parts of the Mojave Desert while it rains in the winter time. Usually winter rain is light to moderate in intensity... not like summertime supercell thunderstorm downpours. The big consideration is what this usually** light winter rain does to the road you're expecting to travel on. As you know, that fine powderized clay, that some roads consist of, can turn into a slippery muck that even 4WD can't get you out of. That's your big concern. . The portion of the Mojave Road between Kelbaker Road and Soda Lake has some super deep powder.
1. Don't camp in a wash or drainage unless you have cellular data and can watch the weather radar....and can evacuate to higher ground...which may be only a few hundred feet away, depending on the local topography.
2. Don't hang out on powdered clay type roads if rain is happening. Deep sand, embedded lava/cinder rocks, gravelly dirt are better. Solid rock can get slippery when wet.
Prepare for all contingencies.
I've never been in the Mojave when it snows--judging from photos I've seen, it's something I'd like to see. Be prepared for cold, wet, wind and snow. Wind, especially when it's cold, is most annoying.
Sounds like fun.
**There is always the possibility of the unexpected.

 

[Sylvester]

Full Speed Ahead, Just don't camp in a wash

 

[Gryf]

I'll 3rd that. Spent a lot of time in the Mojave in all kinds of weather. You need to be more aware of the terrain but overall not a huge threat so long as you're staying aware of the weather upstream.

Some notes:
- Pay attention to the wind. The wind will pick up if it's a storm gust front ahead of rain. So if the sky is dark and the wind is blowing hard be ready for rain
- Watch for dark clouds that are uphill from you. It's Very likely to be dry where you are and flooding out the low washes near you from 20 miles away
- It'll get cold right quick with altitude. If you camp in the New York Mountains in Feb expect it to freeze at night
- Plan a little more time to get where you are going. Be aware of pavement close by in case the weather gets rough and you want to bail to some solid ground. If it gets sketchy. Just hunker down and wait out the weather (See below)
- Have some printed maps in case batteries/signal go down (Smart anywhere, just especially smart in the desert)
- If it does rain keep an eye on the vegetation. The desert in bloom is spectacular

 

[AustyPosty]

I decided to just postpone to next week. There is a high wind warning of 70 mph gusts. Not exactly the kind of thing I’d want to be in for my first time in Mojave. Rain and snow doesn’t bother me but wind does… so next week it is! No big deal

 

[pluton]

I decided to just postpone to next week. There is a high wind warning of 70 mph gusts. Not exactly the kind of thing I’d want to be in for my first time in Mojave. Rain and snow doesn’t bother me but wind does… so next week it is! No big deal

Yeah... no need to turn a vacation into a grueling survival test!

 

[smritte]

Rain and snow are fine. I hate wind though.
Where the trail crosses KelBaker can be a slight issue. That's where it washed out last time. The canyon after Piute is where the road wash's out also. The dry wash bypass doesn't seem to flood. This is based on how much vegetation I see there right after a major storm. Obviously stay away from soda dry lake. The mud there sucks. I would exit Kelbaker and come back in Rasor road if you wanted to do the last stretch.
I ran the route west to east during a very hard rain over 4 days. The only part that I didn't like was back tracking and going around soda lake.

 

[Psfracer]

I decided to just postpone to next week. There is a high wind warning of 70 mph gusts. Not exactly the kind of thing I’d want to be in for my first time in Mojave. Rain and snow doesn’t bother me but wind does… so next week it is! No big deal

Good call. Dirt/sand in 70 mph wind is the worst. Did you go the following week? How was it? It’s been cold lately with snow in the high desert.