Ames, Iowa to Anniston, Alabama
Posted by Ryan
It's an alliterative road trip to take us to the end of the week from soggy Ames to humid Anniston. We'll take almost 2 full days to cover the 922 miles that we we want to cover. The route will allow us to cover 63mph, and about 506 miles on the first day. It's going to be damp at beginning and end. How about the middle?
DAY ONE
The only issue we should have on our first day will be leaving Ames. With the recent flooding the town has seen there is a possibility that some roads could still be underwater, making travel a bit sticky as we try to get out of town. The route will take us along a lot of Iowa state highways, which will introduce us to quite a few fun small towns before we are ultimately surprised to come across Saint Louis. The day will end without incident in Goreville, Illinois in the far southern part of the state.
DAY TWO
For the most part, the second day of driving, Friday won't be too bad either. Sure, when we cross into Alabama, we could start seeing some thunderstorms, but that will only be the last hour or two of the entire drive, so we shouldn't complain. Expect some thunderstorms in and around Anniston upon arrival.
Grand Forks, North Dakota to Ames Iowa
Posted by Ryan
Today's trip will cover exactly 8 hours. Right on the nose. How about that. It's a 528 mile journey, so if you do the math, that means we'll average about 66mph, thanks to driving that will exclusively cover interstates. Let's just hope that Ames isn't underwater when we arrive. For once, Grand Forks isn't.
The trip will get off to a somewhat rocky start with a cold front sweeping into northern Minnesota. Overnight, there could be a little bit of severe weather in eastern North Dakota and northern Minnesota. The boundary isn't moving terribly quickly, and we'll be able to sink south of and shower or thunderstorm activity tomorrow after we have reached the Alexandria, Minnesota area. Since it's still early in the morning, I don't think we're going to be in for any huge thunderstorms, just some nagging rain and thunder. South of the front, everything looks good. Look for the typically clear and warmer weather ahead of a front, which will envelope us all the way into Ames.
Ames, Iowa to Johnson City, Tennessee
Posted by Ryan
We're taking off for a 2 day journey from Ames to Johnson City, a journey that covers 931 miles. On the first day, we'll try to cover about 500 miles on that first day. It's not an easy, interstate heavy drive down to Johnson City, so we'll move slowly at about 62mph. We'll make it though, even though we will deal with quite a few showers and storms along the way.
DAY ONE
A system developing over the center of the country will be shifting into Iowa in the morning, bringing with it some heavy rain.for the beginning of our drive with some isolated thunderstorms embedded with it. Expect heavy rain from Ames to Des Moines as we travel south, then rain continuing, but not as intense as we head towards the Quad Cities. There will be redeveloping showers as the afternoon carries on, with heavy showers possible anytime through the afternoon. Don't be surprised if we have to pull off the road due to visibilities near Peoria or Champaign. It will still be raining, with some thunder, as we sneak into Indianapolis at the end of the first day.
DAY TWO
Don't be fooled by the weather at the beginning of the day. We'll see wet weather to our east and some clearing skies in the morning in Indianapolis, and we'll be able to enjoy some of it as we head south into Kentucky. The heavy rain will really pick up after we hit Louisville and start veering off towards Lexington then south to Johnson City. We'll stay just ahead of the crushing rain that will eventually sneak into Johnson City, but we'll definitely experience it. Have fun with THAT.
