Lubbock, Texas to Worcester, Massachusetts
Today we start quite the trek, from the vast open roads of West Texas through the Appalachians to the historical side of Massachusetts. It'll take 4 days to cover to 2,027 miles between the 2, so we better get a move on! We have weather to try and stay ahead of!
DAY ONE
We start off heading east out of Lubbock on HWY-82 towards Wichita Falls, with a bright, shining sunrise blinding us as clear skies overhead make for an easy start to the lengthy trip. A broad ridge of high pressure over the Southwestern US includes the Southern Plains, so we shouldn't have much to worry about through the day. We'll make a northward turn on I-44 heading into Oklahoma and make our way past Lawton then Oklahoma City with only a few high clouds expected. Our quiet Day One will conclude as we continue northeastward past Tulsa to Vinita, OK, our stop for the first night after 515 miles.
DAY TWO
Our day will start off nice and quiet once again as Vinita will be sitting in a ridge of surface high pressure. There may be some surface fog to burn off as the morning progresses, but by the time we're continuing on I-44 through Springfield, we should be seeing sunny skies once again and just a few high clouds. As an area of low pressure shifts into the Northern Plains, a warm front will begin to take shape during the late afternoon and evening hours down through IA/north MO, so clouds could be on the increase as we make our way past St. Louis and cut through Illinois on I70. We'll finish up our 505 mile day in Terre Haute, IN under pleasant weather once again.
DAY THREE
The aforementioned warm front will continue developing overnight and make it's way to IA/IL, igniting some rain/thunderstorms ahead of it. Overcast skies are expected as we start our day heading towards Indianapolis. Some light rain showers are possible as we past the capital and continue on I70 towards Ohio. For most of the day, we'll be outrunning the shield of rain showers being pushed ahead by the warm front, from Dayton, to Columbia and up towards Cleveland. Any rain showers we experience should remain on the light side, as the heavier stuff will continue to trail us throughout the day. Winds will remain on the light side overall as we continue to sit in a small area of high pressure ahead of the front, so that's some good news. After Cleveland, we'll continue along I90 to Erie, the ending point of our 490 mile day.
DAY FOUR
Not a fun weather day for our final leg of the trip, a 529 mile jaunt through southern NY past Binghamton and Albany and onwards into MA. The warm front will start to slow down over the Northeast and Southern New England, dropping steady rains over the region with low clouds. Some wind gusts could kick up through the mountains as we push our way through Eastern NY during the afternoon hours, but the worst of that will, once again, linger off to our south and west. Rains will lighten up as we make our way into Western MA and eventually into Worcester, but finish off a gloomy day overall.
