BBM
You may be right that they didn't drive with the windows down
@Love Never Fails. But it's possible to look up temperatures for various locales vs depending on memory for what we think it's "usually" like. For example, according to this link, much higher than average temperatures were observed in the southeast in Feb 2019. Florida set records for high temps for Feb and broke records from the 1940s.
National Climate Report - February 2019 | National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)
The next year (the year GS went missing) this link shows that in Birmingham, Alabama on Feb 3 from 6am-6pm the temperature ranged from 66 to 73. That's certainly not cold to most people but it may have been humid.
Weather in February 2020 in Birmingham, Alabama, USA
That same year, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Feb 3 from 6am-6pm temperatures ranged from 64-70. Again, not cold but may have been humid.
Weather in February 2020 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA
Finally, in Georgia that year in Valdosta, Georgia on Feb 3 the high reached 75 (daytime range 63-75)
Weather in February 2020 in Valdosta, Georgia, USA
Taken together, these data suggest 2020 may also have been a warm year for the south as was 2019.
If temperature becomes an issue in court, I'm sure official records will be produced for locations of interest. Unless we know the
exact route so we can to look up temperatures for various spots, I don't think we can state
with any certainty what the weather was like all the way to Florida that year. And remember too temperature is a double-edged sword. High temps may mean they did drive with the windows open alot for the latter part of the trip. Cold temperatures may mean windows were closed but decomposition might have been slowed too (if the cargo area was separate from the heated area.)
Finally, we don't know what sorts of odor eliminators LS may have used in the suitcase or cargo area. We also don't know if plastic wrapping was used inside the suitcase. I don't think there was testimony about any plastic at the PH but that doesn't mean there was no plastic. Not that I think there's anything that would cover the odor completely but it may have been possible to tamp it down more than we realize.
Edited to add before posting: I had written this before I saw
@Cindizzi's post. (Thanks for that!) I'm not clear on how the red line ends up in Pensacola though so I'll just post what I've written as-is.
JMO