When we looked at Chico earlier this month, it didn’t appear that there was much of a trend, but when we bore out the actual verification numbers, it turned out that yes, there was a trend. From the 16th to the 17th it got a bit warmer, both during the day and during the night. It isn’t crazy hot yet, but this little window into April was a sign that it’s coming. WeatherNation ended up getting the top forecast, all by themselves. Actuals: April 16th, High 75, Low 49 April 17th, High 77, Low 54
We’re headed westward on a three day trek out of Texas. Expect a pace of 66.8mph for our 3 1/2 days of travel. That means full days will cover about 534 miles, and we will see quite a bit of southwestern, desert and Spanish inspired sites. This is the time of year to travel through the area, as it won’t be too stormy, and it won’t be too hot. Yet.
DAY ONE (Wednesday)
Victoria, Texas
There is a large system moving through the center of the country today, and a cold front will sweep through east Texas without fanfare this afternoon. One might lead you to believe that will completely clear out the atmosphere behind it, but it will not. Another high Plains disturbance will start the wheels in motion almost immediately. This won’t do a lot to our drive tomorrow, but some more moisture being pulled into the region will mean some popcorn clouds through Fort Stockton. After that though, yeah, it will be pretty quiet, and the day will end in Wild Horse, Texas, which is north of the Big Bend, but about as far from civilization as you can get.
DAY TWO (Thursday) The drive from Wild Horse in west Texas will be briefly enlivened by passage through El Paso, Las Cruces and Tucson, but not by much weather. There is some signal for a little bit of moisture south of Arizona, so sure, maybe a cloud or two as we approach the south metro of Phoenix, but I’m not buying into it too much. I said it won’t be hot in Arizona for the drive, and by that I mean it won’t be as hot as it can be in Arizona, with temperatures in the mid 90s as we arrive in Chandler, on the south side of the Phoenix metro area on Thursday afternoon.
DAY THREE (Friday) This is the kind of day one should expect when traversing the Mojave. Skies will be mostly clear and temperatures will be warm. We’ll make it to the 5 and head north around Santa Clarita, ending up in Lost Hills in the Central Valley, and call our day good.
DAY FOUR (Saturday) This is a pretty simple northbound trek to our final destination. We’ll see Stockton and Sacramento on the way to Chico, but not a heck of a lot of weather. A prevailing west wind will produce some clouds in the mountains east of our route, but sunglasses are still needed until we arrive.
We’re off to northern California, to visit the first city we ever forecast for on Victoria-Weather.com. A little history being made.
At 2pm, PT, Chico was reporting clear skies and a temperature of 64 degrees. If there were any sites in northern California that were reporting any clouds, they were near the coast, and those clouds were tied to the ocean, rather than any overwhelming atmospheric event. The jet has shifted north and even an expected trough will move ashore in British Columbia and dive into the Continental US through the Northern Rockies over the next couple of days. A weak upper level boundary will move through associated with the trough on Monday, which will introduce some clouds that may linger through Wednesday. Tomorrow – Fair, High 77, Low 48 Wednesday – Partly cloudy, High 77, 50
TWC: Partly cloudy. High 78, Low 44 Wednesday – Sunshine and clouds mixed. High 79, Low 52
AW: Tomorrow – Partly sunny and comfortable High 77, Low 46 Wednesday – Nice with times of clouds and sun High 77, Low 50
NWS: Tomorrow – Sunny, High 78, Low 44 Wednesday – Mostly sunny, High 80, Low 52
WB: Tomorrow – Mostly sunny, High 78, Low 50 Wednesday – Mostly sunny in the morning, then becoming partly cloudy, High 79, Low 54
WN: Tomorrow – Mostly sunny, High 77, Low 49 Wednesday – Partly cloudy, High 78, Low 53
CLI: Tomorrow – Partly cloudy, High 76, Low 46 Wednesday – Sunny, High 78, Low 50
