We’re heading for a long drive on Friday. It will take 6 1/2 hours to cover 421 miles, which settles in at about 64.7mph, slowed mostly by St. Louis. Let’s cross two of America’s grandest rivers (and get pretty darn close to a third) in one day.

Our first bridge to cross will be over the Ohio and into Indiana, before we turn westward. The Mississippi Valley will be quiet for once, with warm, increasingly humid air for our route. So hot and humid, in fact, that there is a chance of some isolated pop up shower and storm activity early in the day. Low pressure in the Plains is going to drive that summerlike air north, and as we get west of St. Louis and the Mississippi, we will start to see more ominous clouds to the northwest, with the shower threat diminishing directly over our route. A very strong and active cold front will be congealing in northwest Missouri, and will arrive in Springfield that evening. After us, though, so we can sit and anticipate it’s arrival.