Chico, California to Burlington, Vermont
Posted by Ryan
Oh, man, this is a long trip. It will be a 6 day trip, and I am laid up with the flu. I can't imagine that I will be getting through this very quickly, but that's appropriate. We won't be getting through the road trip very quickly. It's 2970 miles between the two cities, and we will move at a pace of 64.4mph, which means we will cover 515 miles a day. It's going to be a long journey, so let's get on our way.
DAY ONE
It seems unlikely, because it's been so quiet across the country, but an area of low pressure developing over the Pacific will move inland overnight tonight. Expect it to pull in some cold enough air that our drive through the Sierras will be accompanied by snow showers in the mountains. I think it will be just warm enough that the drive through Nevada will be rainy. We will stop at the Victory Highway, exit 373 in Nevada. Not much by way of towns in this part of the world.
DAY TWO
Our problems again will be with the mountains, this time those in Utah and western Wyoming. There will be some rain and mountain snow at the higher elevations, but it will taper off after we reach Rock Springs. It will clear out and warm up until we reach the half way point between Elk Mountain and Laramie. Again, not much by way of towns in this part of the world. I hope you don't mind camping.
DAY THREE
The cold front will set itself up east of our route in Nebraska. There will be some remnant cloudiness in the Nebraska prairies, but we won't have to worry about much rain. Maybe a splash of drizzle between Sidney and North Platte, but not any rain. After North Platte, we will make our way east through Nebraska to Lincoln, where we might actually be able to stay in a hotel.
DAY FOUR
Hey, the towns we encounter are getting bigger and badder. We will make it as far as Tinley Park, a suburb of Chicago. Unfortunately, the cold front that we have been chasing will stall across Illinois. Post frontal rain will be a problem across much of Iowa and all of Illinois. It will start in in Avoca, Iowa, and heavier rain will pick up in Illinois as we find our way to the front. Expect it to get really rainy east of Joliet. Pull out the umbrella as we get into Tinley Park.
DAY FIVE
The rain on Monday will be heaviest in the morning, beginning to lose some of it's organization as we head east through Ohio, on into New York. It will just be generally rainy and cloudy all the way to Evans. New York, which is on the shore of Lake Erie, south of Buffalo.
DAY SIX
Finally, the trip is almost at it's end. And the rain is also at it's end. We will be able to enjoy some blustery, cool conditions, but it will be dry and *gasp* sunny as we finish the drive into Burlington.
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!
In Chico, we’re the man
Posted by Ryan
When you think of California, unless you are thinking of maybe Tahoe, you don't often think of sub-freezing temperatures, but this was the case in Chico the past two days. Yesterday, the morning dipped all the way down to 19. The more incredulous forecasters, those who kept forecast lows a bit to warm, ended up way off, whereas Anthony's forecast was spot on.
Actuals: Monday - High 48, Low 26
Tuesday - High 48, Low 19
Grade: B
Chico, California
Posted by Anthony
Off we go to California's Central Valley! Surely this Golden State getaway will bring warm temps and sunny skies right?... right?!
At 7:15pm PST, the temperature at Chico, CA was 43 degrees under fair skies. A cold front has dropped through Northern California earlier today, and with a broad trough moving over the Western US, temperatures are expected to be on the chilly side for the next couple of mornings. In fact, a Hard Freeze Watch is in effect for Monday night into Tuesday morning as temperatures are expected to drop into the low to mid 20's. Precipitation was pretty much absent as the system moved through and only a few high clouds remained, predominately over the Sierra Nevada. Temperatures will rebound nicely into the upper 40s each of the next couple of days, well, nicely for people living in colder portions of the country. I'm sure the residents of Chico aren't big fans of having to scrape off their windshields before they go to work.
Monday: Sunny. High 48, Low 28.
Tuesday: Sunny. High 47, Low 22.
TWC: Monday: Sunny. High 50, Low 26.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny. High 50, Low 22.
AW: Monday: Intervals of clouds and sun. High 49, Low 30.
Tuesday: Partly cloudy. High 49, Low 27.
NWS: Monday: Mostly sunny, morning frost. High 47, Low 28.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny, another frosty morning. High 47, Low 23.
WB: Monday: Mostly sunny. High 50, Low 29.
Tuesday: Partly cloudy. High 50, Low 26.
Here we see some high clouds off to the east of Chico, but much of the rest of the region is fairly cloudy free, esp the Central Valley. Wear an extra layer next couple of mornings!
