State College, Pennsylvania to Des Moines, Iowa
Posted by Ryan
Hey, another back to back day with the road trips, and we are headed west, young man. Should be an interesting 2 days, covering 884 miles with some inclement weather a certain possibility. This will break down to a speed of 62.7mph, and the first day in the car will cover 501.9 miles. Lets get rolling.
DAY ONE
Let's get this out of the way... a good half of the trip is going to be nasty. We will be in good shape from State College to about Cleveland, but after that, we will encounter a warm front testing the boundary between freezing and not. This is generally a very bad situation, and I don't suspect tomorrow's drive will be any different. We will be under the threat for freezing rain from about Cleveland to LaPorte, Indiana. Of course, with a system set up like this, it's hard to pinpoint exactly how everything will turn out, and there is a chance that there will be regular old rain, some snow or even some sleet (probably the best chance). In any case, it will likely be the worst kind of driving until w eget to Laporte, the destination for Day 1.
DAY TWO
If there is any fortunate note to this trip it's that Sunday will be a much easier day to navigate through Chicago. The weather will have cleared out, and while temperatures will be below freezing, there won't be any precipitation. In fact, as we approach Des Moines, we will likely see temperatures back in the mid 30s. It will be quite the relief after the mess that Saturday will be.
St. Petersburg, Florida to State College, Pennsylvania
Posted by Anthony
Today we take a jaunt up the Eastern Seaboard, a 1,115-mile trek from St. Petersburg, FL to State College, PA. State College has been in the news a lot lately, not exactly for flattering reasons either. Perhaps the weather when we complete our trip will give the folks there a reason to enjoy the weekend! Let us depart!
DAY ONE
We head out of the Tampa/St. Petersburg area in the morning, with some high clouds greeting us on I-75. High pressure is pretty much in control of the entire East Coast, so other than some patchy dense fog over northern FL that'll burn off before we mosey on through, it should be a pretty pleasant day overall! High clouds will linger over the trip through Eastern Georgia, then up through SC as we settle into Charlotte for the night.
DAY TWO
Well, that high pressure ridge is breaking down, leading to more clouds found over the Western Carolinas this morning. The massive snowstorm that's hitting Colorado/Nebraska will extend it's tendrils eastward, causing us a few issues perhaps as we exit Charlotte. Most of our trip will negotiate the foothills of the Appalachians, so we'll be protected somewhat by the rain shadow effect of the mountains, but not by much. Some light showers are possible during the morning as we make our way into Western Virginia, but the frontal system will pretty much stall over NC/VA as we continue northward, so by the time we make our way into Maryland, things should be drying out (albeit cloudy). The rest of our trip into Central PA should be dry and cloudy as the nose of high pressure to the north retains at least some control of the reason. Hooray we made it! Now time to relax and buy some goodies for the big football game!
Chico, California to Muskegon, Michigan
Posted by Ryan
Three days, three road trips! This one takes us to the Great Lakes over the course of 4 days and 2248 miles. That puts us at a clip of 67.1mph. How fast is that, exactly? Fast enough that we cover almost 537 miles a day. Let's go check out Muskegon.
DAY ONE
After what has been an active pattern across the country, especially out east, where more forecasts tend to happen, it's been nice to have high pressure all over. Another ridge will set up over our route, and the drive from Chico, over the Sierras and into Nevada will be harmless. The day will end in Deeth, Nevada.
DAY TWO
There is a big old Gulf of Alaska system moving into Western Washington right now, but we should be able to out run it, and the moisture will be hung up in the higher elevations of western Wyoming. I only mention this, because it will be the closest we get to significant precipitation for this leg of the journey. We will end the day in Elk Mountain, Wyoming, which is named after Elk Mountain, which is in Wyoming.
DAY THREE
Nebraska is one of my favorite states to drive in. It's flat, it's empty, it's mostly truckers who understand the rules of the road. Pretty great. That said, I've never dealt with Nebraska with ugly weather. And we won't have to this time either! Smooth sailing between Elk Mountain (which is located just east of Rawlins) and Lincoln, the final stop on the way to Muskegon.
DAY FOUR
The nearest development to our persons at this stage will be in eastern Canada, well ahead of where we are. Another nice day of travel as we make our way through Iowa, Chicago, part of Indiana and then north along Lake Michigan to Muskegon, which will be surprisingly pleasant, and not even snowing.
Charlotte, North Carolina to Chico, California
Posted by Ryan
/emits low whistle. This is going to be a 5 day road trip, and will take up every second of those 5 days. It's 2716 miles between the two cities, and our average speed will be 66.2. Our first 4 days will cover 529 miles, and the 5th will be the remainder, which is a bit more than the first 4 days. There is a lot of ground to cover, so we had best be on our way.
DAY ONE
We will depart Charlotte with California in mind and sun in our eyes. Well, in the rearview, since we will be headed west. Whatever. The sun won't last us all the way through the mountains, though, because a clipper moving through Canada will swing a little bit of light rain towards the Smokeys. It will be a really quick shot of rain, along with some blustery winds between Knoxville and Nashville, after which point we will drive with sunny skies. The end destination for the first day in the car will be Reidland, Kentucky, which was a stop on yesterday's trip TO Charlotte.
DAY TWO
Day two, and it's high pressure all the way! Warmer air will even begin to build in as we hit western Missouri! Exclamation points! We will turn north from Kansas City towards I-80 before the day ends, and stop for the night in Country Club, Missouri, which is pretty much the north side of St. Joseph.
DAY THREE
More high pressure! Monday will be as easy as Sunday, and even perhaps more so as the largest city we encounter will be Lincoln, Nebraska as we make our westward turn. The day will end, after a whole lot of problem free Nebraska driving, in Pine Bluffs, Wyoming, right along the state line with Nebraska.
DAY FOUR
Tuesday and not much will change. There is a bit of a system that will be working it's way through the Northern Rockies, but for our purposes, it will only bring precipitation to the peaks of Wyoming, and there aren't many in the middle of I-80. Still, we should be wary of the mountain passes. What often doesn't look like much in the models can sometimes be brutal in real life when we are talking about mountain driving. Barring a catastrophe in Wyoming, we will make it to Delle, Utah, on the southwest shore of Salt Lake City.
DAY FIVE
Hey, almost there! And not much in store for the 5th day either. There is a system over the Gulf of Alaska that will pump moisture into the Pacific Northwest, and may cause some high clouds to spill into Northern California, and even then, that won't be until the end of the day. Chico awaits!
Denver, Colorado to Charlotte, North Carolina
Posted by Ryan
We are destined for a nice three day road trip today, between two of America's larger cities, a feat that doesn't often happen. We also don't get to cut through the heart of Kansas very often, so I hope everyone can relish that. It's 1562 miles between the two cities, and we will cover that distance of a rate of 64.5mph. This pace will mean 516 miles a day, surely a manageable pace. Tally-ho!
DAY ONE
We are preparing for the next wave to come out of the Rockies, and it might be preparing to bring some snow to Denver as we prepare to depart Denver. After a warm day today, Denver will enjoy a return to winter that won't be able to chase us too far into the Plains. As we hit Limon, the precipitation will cut off, but I don't think we will see the sun we would typically expect from a rain shadow. The system bringing the snow to the Rockies will be moving into the Upper Midwest and begin to organize itself enough to start spitting out a few showers in Kansas. There is a very slight chance we see a bit of a rain-snow mix after passing through Salina, Kansas, and will fight the sloppiness as we pull into Paxico, Kansas, though again, it's not going to be very heavy precipitation.
DAY TWO
Missouri is a bit hillier than many people anticipate, so it would be a little unpleasant to have to drive through with inclement weather in the area. Fortunately, as we sleep, the fast moving system that plagued us on our Friday drive will clear out, allowing us to traverse the Show Me State in peace and quiet and sunshine. Really, life will be good, and it will be a Saturday, so traffic in Kansas City and St. Louis will be pretty decent. The day will end in Reidland, Kentucky, which is just outside Paducah on the shores of the Ohio River.
DAY THREE
A pivoting trough will swing south from the low now moving through Canada. I don't think it will have enough juice to really bring us any problems, aside, perhaps, from some fog in far eastern Tennessee as we begin to climb through the Smokey Mountains. That's how they got their name, after all, from the persistent fog at their peak. In any event, that fog will certainly lift by the time we arrive in Charlotte Sunday evening.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Peoria, Illinois
Posted by Ryan
Another one day trip! This one takes us west from Pittsburgh to Peoria through what will likely be a nasty concoction of wind and precipitation. It is a 569 mile drive, which will take us almost 9 and a half hours at a rate of 60.6mph. Turn those wipers on, and let's go!
By the time we leave tomorrow morning, all precipitation in Pittsburgh will have made the change to snow, and temperatures will ne cold enough that it will be a fluffy, almost powdery snow. The rapid cool down across the region may be enough to make roads icy from western Pennsylvania through Ohio. They may have been able to get ahead of it in Indiana, since the cool down will happen during the day today, but snow will continue at a somewhat steady pace through Indiana, until we cross into the Land of Lincoln near Champaign. The snow should be fairly manageable, as it won't be very wet, but howling winds will bring down visibility, and existing ice on roadways in Ohio could be a problem. By the time we reach Illinois, the winds will begin to taper, and the snow will mostly be at it's end, but don't be surprised if there are flurries all the way to Peoria.
Athens, Georgia to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Posted by Ryan
I just drove from Minnesota to Florida and back. This ten and a half hour trip is nothing! It's about 640 miles between the two cities, which lends us to a 60.9mph average speed as we navigate the Appalachians. We are squeezing it into one day, so let's get to it!
The first portion of our day will take us into the Piedmont of the Carolinas, which will be a good, eastern route to keep us dry. We will continue under cloudy skies, but without the flash of the wipers until we start finding our way uphill. Fortunes turn along the Virginia-West Virginia border, when a spot of rain will develop, mixed, most likely, with snow. It will begin to transition back to rain as we settle back into Pittsburgh, but for a few tenuous moments in West Virginia, we will contend with steep grade, snow, and trucks without breaks. You will never be happier to be in Pittsburgh, I assure you.
Holland, Michigan to Burlington, Vermont
Posted by Ryan
A trip that takes us through Canada! And oh, will it snow. It's a 2 day trip that covers 776 miles, many of them Canadian. I hope the whole "kilometers" thing doesn't throw me. Or even the "kilometres". Our pace will be at a very slow 52.9mph, meaning we are assured only 423 miles, and probably a night in Ontario.
DAY ONE
We are going to be chasing some snow through the entire day on Saturday. The best chances for some flurries will be east of Ann Arbor into Detroit. By the time we exit the Windsor Tunnel in Canada, we can expect more overcast. There will certainly be flurries on the back edge of this low, but nothing that will really slow down traffic through the wide expanse of Canada. If we encounter any issues in Toronto, it won't have anything to do with the weather. We can expect to spend New Years Eve in Bowmanville, Ontario. I understand their celebration has to be seen to be believed.
DAY TWO
There is but another wave moving through the Northern Plains, preparing to engage the Great Lakes. We will be forced to deal with some snow showers in our rearview for most of the day. Don't be surprised if the snow, likely mixed with rain, really picks up when we make a southerly turn in Vermont on the eastern shore of Lake Champlain. A little lake effect, a little bluster associated with the advancing front, and this last half hour-hour in the car will be the nastiest of the trip, I suspect. Even then, it won't be so bad, if you can handle driving on wet roads.
Corvallis Washington to Bremerton, Washington
Posted by Ryan
It's not going to be a long trip tomorrow, just two hours through the Pacific Northwest. Of course, the rain will make it seem longer. We're traveling 255 miles in a span of 4 1/2 hours. That's a rather languid pace of 56.4mph. Oh well, the roads will be slick.
All right, so I oversold the rain a bit. The drive through Oregon will be dry, but there will be clouds and fog driving through the Columbia Gorge. The chance for some rain will crop up when we arrive in the Olympia area. It will just be drizzle as the real rain will be off the coast. It will be too bad that we will be socked in driving around Puget Sound, because it really is beautiful.
Peoria, Illinois to Corvallis, Oregon
Posted by Ryan
We are destined for a 4 day road trip, somehow beginning on Christmas and culminating in the middle of next week. It's a 2138 mile journey that we will be able to cover at a pace of 67.7mph. Those long drives through Nebraska are fantastic. We will get 541 miles a day behind us, demonstrating how nice it is to drive through the Plains. Holiday travels ahoy!
DAY ONE
So, let's say you have to drive on Christmas. What would you like our of that drive? I would say good weather and little traffic. You're in luck! Outside of Des Moines, the Quad Cities, Iowa City and Omaha, there isn't much traffic! Ok, so there is a little bit of traffic. The weather won't be a problem, however, and temperatures will get warmer as we go. The day, Christmas day, will end in Bradshaw, Nebraska, which is just past York.
DAY TWO
Boxing Day will be a lot like Christmas Day as we drive west. Not a lot in terms of weather, and certainly a lot less in terms of people. The largest city we see will be Cheyenne, and the day will end up in Hadsell, Wyoming, which is near Rawlins. So far so good on this drive, right?
DAY THREE
Early in the day on Tuesday, our fortunes will change. There is a chance for some snow as we cross the Bear River Divide in far western Wyoming. It will be about 45 minutes of snow as we try to make it to Utah. When we arrive in the Beehive State, we can then expect clearing (well, in terms of precipitation) through northern Utah and southern Idaho. The day ends in Mountain Home, Idaho, under some bleak looking skies.
DAY FOUR
Now, things are going to fall apart for us. Expect rain to pour down through western Idaho and eastern Oergon. We will drive our way into the rain shadow of the Cascades, which will mean dry weather and high clouds from Pendleton to the Dalles. Then the elevation, as well as the threat for more showers will go up. It's probably going to be rainy in Corvallis when we get into town.