Ames, Iowa to Farmington, New Mexico

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It’s been a while since we have taken a road trip, and today’s journey takes us from a town that is host to Iowa State University, a school that is playing in tonight’s Sweet 16 basketball game. If you aren’t a basketball fan, then Farmington, in the 4 Corners area, is a scenic spring drive away. It will take two days and 1052 miles to cover the ground. The first day will cover less mileage, but the pace will be just shy of 63mph, and give us a daily target of 503 miles for the end of the day. The weekend approaches, and with that, perhaps, spring break.

DAY ONE (Saturday)

Ames, Iowa

Boy, that map, with the thousand miles of roadway, but no coast on any portion of it is very unsettling for some reason. Let’s get moving and stop thinking about it! Speaking of dry (oops, guess I didn’t stop thinking about it), high pressure, chilly for late spring, has descended into the northern Plains. This should keep things dry, and hopefully calm as well. We’ll get off the freeway in Kearney, Nebraska and head southwest into Kansas. Temperatures will jump around then, but so too will the southerly winds. It may be breezy, and it will certainly be dusty, but it will also be around 80 as we pull into Rexford, in northwest Kansas, and before we pass I-70.

DAY TWO (Sunday)

Low pressure moving out of Wyoming often sounds like a problem, but on this journey, not particularly. The warm front we cross on Saturday is stemming from a low moving out of Wyoming, and it is going to be bringing warmer air north, but out of the Southwest, and not inflow from the Gulf. Those dusty winds we contended with on Saturday night will probably be a part of our entire western Kansas experience between Saturday evening and Sunday morning. Temperatures will continue to be pleasant on the right side of the boundary, with highs in the low 80s. The winds will taper as we approach Walsenburg, Colorado, and really taper off for the rest of our mountain drive into Farmington. It’s a good weekend to hit the road.

Farmington, New Mexico

Gadsden, Alabama to Ames, Iowa

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We are off on another trek, this time lasting a day and a half, covering 884 miles. The first day will be the full day, and will conclude after about 532 miles. The pacing on this trip will be 66.5mph, which is pretty good! Let’s hope for dry roads!

DAY ONE (Monday)

Gadsden, Alabama

The weather is clear now, what with our cavalcade of wintry weather finally clearing out of the southeastern US. The interstates are getting cleared first, but the beginning of our drive, through hard hit Tennessee, specifically Nashville, which is still trying to thaw. It’s snow in Kentucky and southern Illinois, but that is a lot easier to push to the side of the road. Our drive will end in Wentzville, Missouri, a western suburb of St. Louis.

DAY TWO (Tuesday)
Behind the ridge that is bringing the pleasant weather to the Mississippi Valley is the next upper level trough, which I need to assure you is not like the last two. Nevertheless, some precipitation will be coming together as we get started on Tuesday morning. There may be a few flurries between Wentzville and Hannibal, but it certainly isn’t an all day affair for us, driving into Ames, which will be at least warmer than it has been.

Ames, Iowa

Raleigh, North Carolina to Gadsden, Alabama

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We are taking a one day trip, but it is going to be a slog through part of the world that has been the focus of wintry conditions this season. I can’t imagine that this bodes well for the journey. It is presently allotted for about 8 hours and 525 miles, covering 65.8mph. I hope. We just have to try to trust the local DOTs.

Fantastic news for anyone looking to travel in the Southeast: no new precipitation is expected for that particular stretch of land. Unfortunately, it won’t be getting any warmer, either. The chilly conditions, on top of a half foot of snow, in a part of the world that doesn’t get a chance to plow very often suggests that whatever snow fell over the last couple of days is probably still going to be there. The snow had a difficult time clambering over the higher terrain in the Appalachians, There is at least light snow as far to the west as Atlanta, where the eastern suburbs still have an inch or two on the ground. Fortunately, the roads will dry up to conclude the dry. Expect some tentative drivers joining the road with increasingly impatient drivers. The traffic should start to wind down for that last drive. Maybe then we can appreciate all that sunshine.

Gadsden, Alabama

Rome, Georgia to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

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It’s a January road trip through Appalachia. Perhaps not as beautiful as the summer or fall, and maybe even a bit more treacherous, but… .well, I guess I’m not doing a good job of selling this trip. It will take us one long day to cover the 664 miles at a pace of 64.7mph.

Rome, Georgia
By Thomson200 – Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=63993488

There is a weak little wave moving into the Great Lakes, dangling a fairly inefficient cold front through the Mississippi Valley tonight, which is going to be arriving in the Appalachians tomorrow. The precipitation will be more likely on the western faces of the terrain, and for our drive from Rome to about Beckley, West Virginia, when the chance for snow will filter back in. The snow will persist through the Mountaineer State, and as we arrive in Pittsburgh – yep, snow there too. It won’t be Lake enhanced, and it is going to be very cold, so just expect some fluff.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Atlantic City, New Jersey to Sacramento, California

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Our trek on this day is going to cover the nation, and will last a week. A real American road trip. The trip is going to span 2,846 miles, which covers about 66 miles an hour. This lengthy trip is going to be broken apart in about 524.5 mile daily chunks.

DAY ONE (Wednesday)

Atlantic City, New Jersey

Low pressure in the Great Lakes is doing something we can all appreciate: Moving quickly. The low will be out of the picture by the time we start heading out on Wednesday morning, and while the models aren’t capturing the Lake effect snow very well, it doesn’t much matter. We will indeed be driving just south of Lake Erie, but I don’t think the fetch will be right to bother us in northern Ohio. The drive will end in Sandusky, Ohio of conclude the first day on the road.

DAY TWO (Thursday)
Thursday isn’t going to be great. We will start out fine, and make it through Chicago with little problem, but our next fast moving feature will be emerging from the Plains, and getting stronger and wetter before slamming into the Midwest. We will encounter rain starting around Joliet, and really getting going as we reach the Quad Cities. The rain will continue, heavy in spots, through Iowa City and on to our destination for the night in Williamsburg, Iowa, drenched.

DAY THREE (Friday)
The back side of our little storm will transition over to a bit of light snow while we rest in Williamsburg. The core of the system is going to continue on to the Great Lakes, and while there won’t be accumulation, the flurries on top of refreezing ice could make the entire drive through the Hawkeye state. No precipitation while we travel in Nebraska, but there is going to be a weak lee trough kicking up clouds as far east as Paxton, Friday’s destination.

DAY FOUR (Saturday)
After a couple of tougher days, we might be a bit trepidatious about hitting the mountains. Fortunately, a ridge will be moving into the area, and driving the Nebraska Panhandle and the bulk of Wyoming will be pretty easy. We won’t make it out of Wyoming on Saturday, stopping for the day in Piedmont.

DAY FIVE (Sunday)
We have a bit to go to wrap this trip up, but by this point, we will have undergone a significant change to the pattern. Surface high pressure off shore is stifling that Pineapple Express that has been so problematic this winter, and clear skies beckon from Utah, Nevada and on to California.

Bay City, Michigan to Atlantic City, New Jersey

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According to Google, it would be almost 8 hours to fly from the Bay City area to Atlantic City. It’s eleven and a half hours to make that drive. Combined with the wait at the airport, getting your bags, rental cars, etc. It’s probably shorter and definitely easier to drive. We’ll do this in one big day, covering the 741 miles at a pace of 64.4 miles.

Bay City, Michigan

As has been the case for weeks now, there is another feature rippling through the Great Lakes. This one is moving in from the central Plains, which is further south than anything we’ve seen for a while. That means it hasn’t really been able to tap into much moisture yet, which is great, because there isn’t any precipitation yet. It is cloudy now in Bay City, which will keep things from cooling too much overnight. Temperatures, in fact, will start to warm up overnight, which means the light precipitation moving through lower Michigan tomorrow morning will fall as rain, with a bit of a mix just as we get started. The threat will mostly wane after we pull through Toledo. Clouds will chase us into Pittsburgh, but by the time we get to the Allegheny Mountains, the sun should pop out. The low pressure center is going to be pretty broad, and the rotation associated with it will carry off shore. The southwesterly fetch could lead to a bit of low clouds and fog late in Atlantic City upon our arrival.

Atlantic City, New Jersey

Dallas, Texas to Bay City, Michigan

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This trip might not seem that long, but it’s actually going to last for parts of two years. The trip actually covers 1213 miles, and will last for two days, with one being a couple hours longer than the other. We will move at a pace of 66.1mph, which means we will be spending New Year’s Eve about 529 miles from Dallas.

DAY ONE (Wednesday)

The real show right now is the copious lake effect event happening closer to our destination in Bay City. More precipitation is moving into the Southwest as well, but that won’t be hurdling the Rockies. Instead, we can expect high pressure and mostly sunny skies from Texas through Oklahoma and into Missouri, where we will reach Cuba for the Countdown.

DAY TWO (Sunday)
The disturbance in the Great Lakes is winding down. The parent feature is shifting off into the North Atlantic and becoming a problem for Baffin Island. I’m not fully convinced there won’t be snow in Lower Michigan on New Year’s Day, as wind still looks to be predominantly from the west. That said, our route is really going to be in range for the snow between about Michigan City, Indiana and Paw Paw, Michigan. That’s maybe an hour? And even then, only if the snow slows down traffic. Bay City should be living the good life in the eastern part of the state. Happy New Year!

Monroe, Louisiana to Reno, Nevada

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We’re heading west over the Christmas break. On the plus side, we have work off for the next several days, so we don’t have to worry about that. On the negative end, the drive is over the holidays, which means everyone has time off. Good luck finding help at the convenience store if you need it. The drive will last a little more than 3 1/2 days, covering 1,948 miles at a pace of 67mph. That means the three long days of driving will cover 537 miles. I’m excited to see where we end up on Christmas!

DAY ONE (Wednesday )

Monroe, Louisiana

The Gulf is definitely open, at least on the western side. Fortunately, there isn’t a lot to trigger this instability for Christmas Eve. There may be some lingering clouds throughout the day, and we aren’t going to find a firm dry line, so it’s hard to say when the clouds will end, but they should eventually. We will stop for the day in Newlin, in west Texas. Santa, come to Newlin!

DAY TWO (Thursday/Christmas)
It will be a bright and beautiful morning on Christmas as we arise in Newlin. Will we receive gifts? That depends on your Naughty or Nice list status, but we should treasure the good weather we will see for the remainder of the Texas Panhandle and throughout New Mexico. Clouds my begin to pop up as we hit some terrain west of Albuqueque, but precipitation will remain closer to the Four Corners. Our drive will pass into Arizona on Christmas day, but only just. We’ll spend the night in Lupton, preparing for a much rougher day on Friday.

DAY THREE (Friday)
I know it sounds crazy to say, but in the higher terrain near Flagstaff, don’t be surprised to see some snow. It should stay away from the interstate, and I suspect the drive in Arizona, at least, will remain dry. We will take US-95 from Kingman, which means we will cross by the Hoover Dam before we reach Las Vegas. Unfortunately, the Vegas portion of the matter may also feature some isolated showers. It will be an improvement for Sin City, which may see some thunderstorms and heavy rain on Christmas Day, so be careful if the city is recovering from the unusual weather. We will continue northwest to Beatty, which will also be unusually damp.

DAY FOUR (Saturday)
The center of low pressure, the main one at the base of the trough will move ashore on Boxing Day and have a tough time maintaining itself when it arrives inland. It’s going to completely dissipate at the surface by Saturday. This means that whatever rain fell over the Holiday week on 95 will be dried and gone for the conclusion of our trip through Nevada. The only problem will be finding a place to stop to use the restroom!

Reno, Nevada

Hot Springs, Arkansas to Redding, California

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Let’s head west! Our drive is a little bit longer than the previous one, with this one coverinf three time zones, 4 days and 2,088 miles. We will be able to enjoy the luxuries of highway travel throughout much of the journey, which will afford a pace of 65.25mph, and 522 miles a day. Will we finally see some warm weather?

DAY ONE (Thursday)

Hot Springs, Arkansas

With high pressure beginning to drift out of hte central US, the cold air is alleviating. This, unfrotunately, also means that access to the Gulf is opening again, and some surface moisture is expected to get into the western parts of Arkansas, particularly the valleys, in the morning. This may manifest as a bit of light rain between Hot Springs and the Oklahoma border, but more likely, it will be seen as fog and low clouds. Low pressure is emerging in the northern Plains by tomorrow, and a cold front is going to emerge along our route. No concerns for developing showers or storms, but behind it, there will be a brisk northwest wind. Clear skies are expected after Henryetta, and winds should start to taper off around El Reno. The day will end in Groom, Texas, which is just east of Amarillo.

DAY TWO (Friday)
Another wave is going to ripple through the Rockies into the High Plains. What will this mean for us? Not much, save for more blustery winds between Amarillo and Santa Rosa, New Mexico. We will enjoy a bit more tranquil conditions though the high terrain of western New Mexico, and make it to the Painted Desert National Park in Arizona.

DAY THREE (Saturday)
The weather is really going ot be churning in the northwestern US, however there isn’t a whole lot to tlk about in the southwest. It won’t be hot in the desert, as we may be accustomed to thinking, which is good news, because our day will end at Edwards Air Force Base.

DAY FOUR (Sunday)
It’s probably the best to take highway 99 north through California on a Sunday, right? Or is most of the traffic hanging out on 5? Or does anyone even drive in the Central Valley? Nevertheless, we will be doing it on Sunday, as another system moves into the Pacific Northwest. In the Valley, we will see a smattering of light rain, while the hills and mountains east of us will contend with some significant snow fall, once again. The rain for us will come into the picture around Kingsburg, and in points northward. Sad to say, it may be a bit drizzly in northern California by the time we arrive in Redding on Sunday afternoon.

Redding, California

Sherman, Texas to Hot Springs, Arkansas

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It’s a short trip today, but really, a four hour trip between a couple of towns that avoids much population anywhere along the way is pretty exciting. This means that we haven’t really been able to talk about a trip through places like Paris, Texas, or Broken Bow, Oklahoma or De Queen, Arkansas. not that the post will include them after this, but still! It’s a 239 mile journey that will last just shy of 4 1/2 hours, covering only 54.5. At that pace, maybe we will lament driving through Paris, Broken Bow and De Queen.

Sherman, Texas

If you have been following along here at Victoria-Weather, or if you have been outside east of the Rockies lately, you know that it is pretty chilly. A warm up is coming, however, as high pressure that has been keeping it so cold is shuffling eastward. This won’t disrupt the day at all, as it often can when one air mass leaves town. The tail of the surface high is sinking into hte northern Gulf, which will prevent moisture from infiltrating our route. It should be a fine day for driving, in about perfect conditions for keeping the windows rolled up, but without needing the heat or AC.

Hot Springs, Arkansas