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!
