Barnstable, Massachusetts to Akron, Ohio
Posted by Ryan
Hey, we are back on a road trip, and we are spending some time out east. The drive will take us from Cape Cod to northeastern Ohio over the course of a day and a half. The pace will be fairly slow, about 59.3mph over 702 miles. Let's see if we can dodge the rain drops and head west.
DAY ONE
It's going to be a rather disturbed weather pattern out east, with chances for showers and storms almost everywhere from Maine to Florida at some point in the afternoon. That won't come to be an issue until we have reached about the Lake Carmel, New York area, with afternoon showers and thunderstorms popping up after that time. The storms will be at their most widespread through Wikes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and will begin to taper off after that point. It will be a little bit longer to Lamar, Pennsylvania, the stop for the night.
DAY TWO
The quick 4 hours to finish off the trip into Akron will start clear. There may be a few clouds beginning to pop up as we approach our destination, but the scattered showers and thunderstorms should hold off until after we have begun unpacking the Road Trip Mobile in Akron.
Charlottesville, Virginia to Corvallis, Oregon
Posted by Ryan
Are you up for a lengthy trip? Because this one is going to take 5 1/2 days, while covering 2885 miles. That will put us on a pace of 66.58mph. That means those first 5 days on the road will cover 532.7 miles. It's a lot of time in the car, so we had better get on the road!
DAY ONE
It seems like we will travel so much faster early in the trip, because we will cover so many more states. Larger states are the pits. Anyways, the beginning of the drive, from Virginia to West Virginia will be fine, but a cold front sliding south through the Ohio Valley will bring about some isolated thunderstorms, starting for us when we reach Lexington, Kentucky, and continuing west to Sulphur, Indiana, where we will stop for the night. Sulphur is in the far southern part of the Hoosier state, about a half hour west of Louisville.
DAY TWO
The day on Thursday will be quiet, which is nice, because St. Louis can be a challenge to drive through if the weather is suspect. Kansas City has never given me a problem, though. Nevertheless, neither esteemed city will be much issue during our second day of travel, which will end on the north side of St. Joseph, Missouri.
DAY THREE
The beginning of the drive on Friday will be similarly problem free. Driving through Lincoln is never an issue. We may begin to see a chance for an isolated shower or thunderstorm as soon as we hit the Nebraska Panhandle, however, as a low is developing in the northern High Plains. It looks like it could be a doozy of a system for the Upper Midwest. Fortunately for us, it will just be the spotty isolated shower or storm after I-76 splits off from I-80 until we reach Egbert, Wyoming. Egbert!
DAY FOUR
The cold front associated with that area of low pressure will actually be hanging back in western Wyoming and northern Utah. It will turn into showers and thunderstorms west of Rock Springs. The thunderstorm threat will pick up around Evanston, where some heavy downpours are possible. The rain threat will essentially be at it's end when we reach Ogden, Utah, and our northwesterly turn towards Idaho will be dry. The day will end in Snowville, Utah, just short of Idaho.
DAY FIVE
Finally, the Pacific Northwest, where it's always dry and there is always sun. Wait, huh? Lately, every time we forecast out there it dry and pleasant. No different when we leave Snowville and head through Idaho and eastern Oregon. No problems whatsoever. The day will end in Blalock Canyon, Oregon, which is right by the Columbia River. Just a little bit more to go on a leisurely Sunday drive.
DAY SIX
Winds are going to pick up when we get to Portland and head south towards Corvallis. No rain, or issues that way, but keep both hands on the wheel on the way into the home of the Oregon State Beavers.
Eugene, Oregon to Atlanta, Georgia
Posted by Ryan
We are off on a lengthy road trip today, covering 5 days and parts of 11 states. It's 2615 miles between the two cities, and we will cover 64.5 miles an hour. We will pace ourselves by only covering 516.2 miles a day. Let's hit the road, shall we?
DAY ONE
Sunday is going to be a scenic drive through the back country of Oregon and then parts of Idaho. The part of Idaho with people. The drive will be pretty pleasant, as the Pacific Northwest is under high pressure. We will make it all the way to King Hill, Idaho, which is about 20 minutes past Mountain Home.
DAY TWO
There is a little disturbed area over the Front Range of Colorado, but it will sink south and away from our route. Expect awesome driving conditions through Idaho, northern Utah and the west half of Wyoming. We will end the day in Fort Steele, Wyoming, which is just a tremendous name for a place. I feel very safe there.
DAY THREE
The biggest change on the drive Tuesday is that things are really going to flatten out. Yep, we're in Nebraska now! The drive will be much easier as the flat land of Nebraska is conducive to straight roads, and probably speeds that are well above the average for this particular journey. We will get to Bradshaw, Nebraska, just outside of York, well ahead of time with no significant weather (except for some toasty temperatures) to deal with.
DAY FOUR
A weak little trough moving through Canada will send a surface boundary through Iowa and Illinois may affect the drive late in the day on Wednesday. Our day will end in Lebanon, Illinois, which is on the other side of the Mississippi from St. Louis. Our horizon may darken as we arrive in the St. Louis metro, but the chances are good that we arrive in Lebanon before the rain.
DAY FIVE
It's a way out right now, but Thursday looks like it will be fairly quiet over the southeast. That narrow band of showers and storms will be triggered by solar radiation, and will exist over Kentucky and northern Tennessee. Translated: we will be south of the showers and storms by the time they ignites. Enjoy Atlanta, which will be rather toasty here in mid-May.
Valdosta, Georgia to Fort Smith, Arkansas
Posted by Ryan
This is a similar trip to the last one we ran. Today, we are heading west from Valdosta on our way to Fort Smith. It will take us two days to cover the ground, where the ground is an expanse of 837 miles. The pace we will be about 59 miles an hour, which isn't so quick, but we ARE in the south, after all. This means day one will cover 473 miles. Let's mosey, shall we?
DAY ONE
Things are looking up after an active couple of weeks. We will be in the midst of a high pressure regime in the southeast tomorrow. No worries for us, certainly. The drive northwest from Valdosta will be quite pleasant, so enjoy the countryside with windows down. The day will end in New Albany, Mississippi, which is just northwest of Tupelo.
DAY TWO
I think we're going to be fine on day two as well, but a little disturbance over Texas will draw moisture north into Louisiana and southern and western Arkansas. We will stay dry, I think, all the way to Fort Smith, but clouds may start to thicken after we pass west of Little Rock. Fort Smith should be fine for our time there. Or it might not be. I don't know, this is just a road trip forecast.
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to Greenville, South Carolina
Posted by Ryan
It's actually further than I thought to get from Oklahoma City to Greenville. It will be a nearly complete 2 day drive and almost 1000 miles. The average rate of speed will be 63mph, slowed, perhaps, by treks through Memphis, Birmingham and Atlanta.
DAY ONE
A combination of factors will influence the day on Sunday. First, a cold front moving through the Plains may set off some isolated morning storms over eastern Oklahoma, generally between OKC and the Arkansas border. There will be a prolonged period of dry weather as we move through Arkansas, but afternoon convection thanks to return flow off the Gulf may work it's way as far north as Memphis. I think the heaviest of the wet weather won't make it past Jackson, but the threat is still there, so, you know, I gotta mention it. The day will end not far outside of Memphis in Holly Springs, Mississippi.
DAY TWO
It's going to be another touch and go day, with scattered showers and storms pretty much anywhere you go. Well, everywhere you go between Holly Springs and Greenville. The heaviest rain looks like it will be in Alabama, east of Birmingham, but I wouldn't put any stock into that. I would plan on the threat being someone lessened when we are east of Athens, Georgia, however. Still, bring an umbrella to upstate South Carolina.
Appleton, Wisconsin to La Crosse, Wisconsin
Posted by Ryan
We are staying in state for this short road trip. It will cover only 171 miles and last less than 3 1/2 hours, but it is a road trip, and we will forecast it. (Average speed, for you math junkies is only 44mph)
The hope is that our 10AM departure time keeps us dry for our drive west across Wisconsin, but the way things have gone with this system, it's hard to really get behind that forecast fully. I will say coverage in showers and thunderstorms will be greatly reduced from what it has been over the past couple of days, but don't be surprised if showers and thunderstorms pop up over Wisconsin early. Most of it will be in the form of rain, rather than more of those persistent squall lines. The squalls will come later. Still, there will be plenty of sun and some warm weather when we reach the banks of the Mississippi in La Crosse.
Springfield, Ohio to Anderson, South Carolina
Posted by Ryan
It's another 1 day trip tomorrow, this one taking us from Ohio to South Carolina. It's 527 miles between the two cities, and we will cover that ground at a pace of 59.1 miles an hour. That's pretty pokey. Into the car, let's get out of town!
A weak boundary has established itself just south of the Ohio River, and will generally be producing clouds, but some light rain is not out of the question. The drizzle should wind down somewhere between Cincinnati and Lexington, but the southerly drift of this boundary will mean a chance for clouds until we reach Knoxville. Expect things to clear and begin to warm up after we traverse far western North Carolina and arrive in Anderson.
Davenport, Iowa to Springfield, Ohio
Posted by Ryan
A nice little one day journey from eastern Iowa to southwestern Ohio is in the works today. It will take about 7 hours to get from Davenport to Springfield, which are about 439 miles apart. We will navigate the Midwest at a pace of 60.5mph. It's a slow pace, but it's only one day in the car!
Well, it's going to rain. The whole trip, the entire length of the trip from the Quad Cities to Davenport will be under the threat for rain. The heaviest rain will certainly fall on us as we are leaving Davenport, and become less intense, and likely less widespread as we head south and east. It will get a little bit warmer, but not much, as we make our way into Springfield. It's a good thing the plan is to move slowly, because traffic will not be good. Fortunately, Indianapolis is the largest town we travel through. Better luck on the next road trip, right?
The Week Ahead 4/22/12-4/28/12
Posted by Ryan
We are back to a busy forecast week, so stay tuned, because we might be forecasting for your area.
Monday - Durham, North Carolina
Tuesday - Lewiston, Idaho
Wednesday - Detroit, Michigan
Thursday - Davenport, Iowa
Friday - Springfield, Ohio; Road Trip from Davenport to Springfield
Saturday - Road trip from Springfield to Anderson, South Carolina
Napa, California to Gainesville, Georgia
Posted by Ryan
It's going to be a nice, long journey across the country to begin the final week of April. The day will last 5 days and cover 2549 miles. The first 4 days will be full days that net 528 miles. The extensive time spent on I-40 will mean that we can cover ground at nearly 66mph, which is pretty good.
DAY ONE
We won't be able to get out of the state at any point during the day Saturday, instead shuttling from north of San Francisco Bay through the Central Valley and eventually to the Mojave. The day will end in Essex, California, which is sort of a dusty town on the fringes of the Mojave National Preserve. All of this will be accomplished with nary a cloud and increasingly warm temperatures. In fact, by the end of the day, it will be downright hot in southern California.
DAY TWO
Another day filled with dust and heat. Fortunately, our elevation will rise, and the temperatures will become much more manageable. It's going to be terribly lonely, this drive, but at least it might get a little interesting, with a few high elevation rain showers after about 4pm, as we move from Arizona to New Mexico. The day will end in Laguna, New Mexico, which is less than an hour west of Albuquerque.
DAY THREE
There may be some morning shower and storm activity over the Texas Panhandle, but it should long be over by the time we arrive on the scene. There may be some fairly scattered clouds over the Panhandle and western Oklahoma, but nothing that will negatively influence the day. We will end our Monday in Hydro, Oklahoma, which is just east of Weatherford.
DAY FOUR
High pressure will remain entrenched over he south central portion of the United States, which is going to be different than the other days we have gone through so far. Why? Trees. There are actually trees in much of Oklahoma and throughout Arkansas. IT's going to be a delightful change of pace, though it will be more humid. Still sunny. The day will end in Memphis. The real, live, gigantic city of Memphis.
DAY FIVE
Just one day left in what will turn out to be a fairly pleasurable road trip from Napa to Gainesville, Georgia. No rain again, only sunshine through the Southeast. The comparatively leisurely day will finish off a trip where our greatest stress will be Atlanta area traffic.
