Gainesville, Florida to Green Bay, Wisconsin
Posted by Ryan
North we head to a part of the country that saw some very active weather yesterday, over a route that is seeing the inclement weather today. It's a 1266 mile, 2 1/2 day drive, which means the average speed is about 61.6mph, not terribly fast. We'll cover 493 miles a day through some very pretty countryside as we make our way north.
DAY ONE
Fortunately for us, things are getting much clearer in the southeast overnight and into tomorrow. Our drive north from Florida into Georgia and eventually into southeastern Tennessee will be pleasant. Humidity is going to break in the wake of the system moving through, so the summer time driving conditions won't put a huge strain on our air conditioner. We will end our day in Mont Eagle, Tennessee which is northwest of Chattanooga.
DAY TWO
Our second day will be similarly pleasant, though we will be seeing different cities. I happen to really enjoy Louisville, so be sure to stop while passing through, because the weather should be velvety and warm while we are in town. I-65 awaits, however so don't linger too long. We will make it to Roselawn, Indiana, which is about 20 miles south of Gary.
DAY THREE
Come Friday, the party will be over. A cold front will emerge in Illinois as we begin our drive, and there will be heavy rain and thunderstorms as we set forth towards Chicago. Fortunately, it should be early enough in the day that these storms will be more bark than bite, but they will feature very heavy rain. The thunder will likely end, but the rain will continue as we cross into Wisconsin, and it's going to be pretty wet as we make our way into Green Bay.
Record Heat
Posted by Anthony
The forecasts for Gainesville had them a couple degrees below record heat for both days, with the threat of a stray shower or thunderstorm keeping them from reaching those levels. However, Mother Nature would not be denied as Tuesday saw a new record high and Wednesday tying the old record set back in the 80s. A brief thunderstorm did move overhead on Wednesday, but this midweek heat will stay with them for a while, or at least in the record books. TWC again edged out the competition to take home the win, with AW bringing up the pack once more.
Tuesday: New record high of 98, Low 77.
Wednesday: 0.03" of rain in a thunderstorm, Tied-record high of 97, Low 75.
Forecast grade: B
Salt Lake City, Utah to Gainesville, Florida
Posted by Anthony
Today we travel from Salt Lake City to Gainesville. Well, it'll take four days but if the Utes and Gators were ever to play a high-stakes football game, at least the fan base would know where to travel! This trip will cover 2,207 miles over 4 days. So let's all hop into the minivan and travel to the Sunshine State!
DAY ONE
It'll be a somewhat cloudy start to the day in Salt Lake City, as some remements of overnight monsoonal showers and thunderstorms lift northwards over the region. While no showers are expected in the area as we head eastward on I-80 into Wyoming. The sun should break out fully as the morning progresses and the land heats up, but as with the typical monsoon routine, thunderstorms should start blowing up around midday. The tail end of a cold front that's pushing through the Northern Plains will be the focus of showers and thunderstorm activity, most of which should stay out over the Dakotas and over Northern WY. Scattered thunderstorms are quite possible as we roll through Laramie towards Cheyenne, and a few should continue to hang around the region as evening approaches and we continue on into Western Nebraska towards Sidney, our first stop of the night. No severe storms are expected today, they should all stay well off to the north and east of today's leg.
DAY TWO
As the tail end of the cold front pulls away from the Upper Midwest and high pressure starts to build in, it should be a fairly nice start to the day as our trip along I-80 continues on its' merry way. The base of the high pressure will continue to push down over NE and Western IA, keeping partly cloudy skies overhead as we roll through Kearney and Grand Island by early afternoon. Overall, it should be a rather pleasant day through and through as we turn southward and head into Kansas City, our stop for the second night.
DAY THREE
The main dome of high pressure will continue eastward overnight into the Western Great Lakes, with the base of it pushing down into the Mid-MS Valley. With another system developing over the Northern Plains, a weak boundary will set up from southeast MO northwestward into the Dakotas. The start of the day will be nice, with us starting our way over on I-70 towards St. Louis. Clouds will build through the late-morning hours as a few thunderstorms attempt to develop over the region, with better chances as we make our way along I-24 to kick off the afternoon past Mt. Vernon, IL. The afternoon will continue to get a bit drearier though, as numerous showers and thunderstorms are expected to ignite over western KY and TN into the early evening hours. The windshield wipers should have gotten a pretty good workout by the time we roll into Nashville, our stop for the third night.
DAY FOUR
This area of high pressure has been rather kind to us for the most part the last couple of days, following us along the US and getting our days off to good starts. Today won't be any different either, with it building southward into the TN Valley and Southern Appalachaians while the main center remains over the Central Great Lakes. The cold front mentioned previously will have pushed off the Eastern Seaboard mostly, but the tail end of it will have shifted to southeast GA/FL Panhandle and westward along the Gulf Coast. This axis will be the main area for showers and thunderstorms, which we won't get to until well in the afternoon after making our way though Chattanooga by mid-morning and Atlanta by midday. Once we get south of Macon is where we'll start to see increasing clouds and a few scattered storms, which we'll have to dodge for the remainder of the day as we pull into Gainesville. Time to do the Gator Chomp!
Gainesville, Florida
Posted by Anthony
Off to the Sunshine State we go, there summer thunderstorms normally rule the landscape. I also have family that lives in the Gainesville area, will they be able to ward off the summer storms or get some afternoon soakings traveling about the city?
At 12:53PM EDT, the temperature at Gainesville was already a toasty 93 degrees with a few clouds overhead. As I mentioned in my Salt Lake City forecast, broad high pressure continues to rule the Southeastern US, with a cold front slowly sagging through the Carolinas up into the Mid-MS Valley. This front will be falling apart over the next couple of days, but will be the focus of showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening hours. While this broad ridge of high pressure will keep the front well to the north of the region, very hot temperatures are expected over the FL Peninsula. Scattered thunderstorms are expected both days, but mainly over the western half of the peninsula since a general east to west flow should be in place. Gainesville will probably escape the brunt of the thunderstorm activity, but certainly can't rule out a couple stray thunderstorms will soak some Gator summertime activities.
Tuesday: Isolated thunderstorms possible. High 95, Low 73.
Wednesday: Slightly better chance of thunderstorms. High 96, Low 74.
TWC: Tuesday: Isolated afternoon thunderstorms. High 96, Low 75.
Wednesday: A few scattered thunderstorms. High 95, Low 76.
AW: Tuesday: Scattered thunderstorms expected. High 94, Low 73.
Wednesday: A few less thunderstorms possible. High 93, Low 74.
NWS: Tuesday: A few early evening thunderstorms possible. High 95, Low 73.
Wednesday: More scattered thunderstorms expected. High 95, Low 74.
WB: Tuesday: Scattered thunderstorms possible. High 95, Low 74.
Wednesday: More scattered thunderstorms possible. High 95, Low 74.
A few thunderstorms are already popping off towards the west. Will they see some farther east today? Time will tell...
Jefferson City, Missouri to Gainesville, Georgia
Posted by Ryan
We're going to take a day and a half to sneak from Jefferson City, the capital of Missouri, to Gainesville, Georgia, the Chicken Capital of the World. The World! It's a 683 mile drive, of which we will cover 483 miles on the first day. A lot of time spent off the main roads will mean a pokey 60mph pace. Well, let's get pokin' already!
DAY 1
Our first pokey day in the car will spend time in St. Louis and Nashville before terminating in Smyrna, Tennessee, which lies on the southeast side of Nashville. The drive should be all right, as a stationary front is wrapping from northern Illinois to Northern Missouri and southwest towards Oklahoma. South of this boundary, we'll get to see some hot weather by afternoon, but we won't have any other problems than that, especially if the rain stays along the front, north of our route, as it's expected to.
DAY 2
All the moisture being trucked north from the Gulf is being brought north on the backside of a weak ridge in the southeast. That means all the showers and storms are going to develop over Texas and the southern Plains, and the front, as it sags south towards our route will dry up. Expect some clouds, though, and still warm weather as we arrive in Gainesville.
Sunshine State Holds True
Posted by Anthony
The Gainesville forecast had plenty of sunshine and warm temperatures. Some dense fog develops early Thursday morning and burned off shortly after sunrise, but kept morning low a couple degrees higher than most people had. All told, VicWx and TWC finished in a tie for 1st. AW didn't live up to their moniker, once again, and brought up the rear. Apologies for the delay in the verification, there was a glitch in the system. No worries, it's been fixed!
Thursday: High 84, Low 47.
Friday: High 85, Low 48.
Forecast Grade: A
Gainesville, Florida
Posted by Anthony
From coast to coast my forecasts take me this week. Strangely enough, the weather is just as monotonous.
At 1:53pm EDT, the temperature in Gainesville is 76 degrees under fair skies. Normally we have a in-depth writeup about what weather features are affecting the area, if they are going to bring in precip, or huge differences in predictions between our competitors. Today, there's none of that. A large dome of high pressure has parked itself over the Southeast US and will spread over the East Coast over the next couple of days, pushing that pesky area of low pressure over New England out to sea finally. What does this mean for Gainesville and it's hoardes of sun-loving college students? Sunny skies and warm temperatures. Bust out the sunscreen!
Thursday: Sunny. High 83, Low 46.
Friday: Continued sunny. High 83, Low 49.
TWC: Thursday: Sunny. High 84, Low 47.
Friday: Mostly sunny. High 83, Low 51.
AW: Thursday: Sunny and nice. High 82, Low 44.
Friday: Sunny and pleasant. High 82, Low 51.
NWS: Thursday: Clear. High 82, Low 44.
Friday: Continued clear. High 82, Low 48.
WB: Thursday: Sunny. High 82, Low 44.
Friday: Sunny. High 83, Low 48.
As you can see, not much going on out there. Enjoy!
Denver, Colorado to Gainesville, Florida
Posted by Anthony
From the foothills of the Rockies to one of the biggest party schools in the nation, our drive is going to cover 1737 miles. Better hit the road!
DAY ONE
A rather vigorous upper-level trough is digging into the Western US, with an area of low pressure intensifying over the Central Plains. This area of low pressure won't move very much throughout the day, but strong low-level flow out ahead of it is going to make for some VERY windy conditions for nearly the entire route between Denver and Kansas City. A couple of light rain showers are possible in the Denver area during the morning hours as we head our way eastwards into Nebraska, but for the most part the trip today should be dry as the cold front makes its way out of the Four Corners and into the High Plains from Kansas to western Texas.
DAY TWO
The cold front will continue to move through the Central Plains during the overnight into Friday morning, drawing closer to KC. However, most of the precip will remain right along the front, so showers should be of worry as we push eastward through Missouri during the morning hours towards St. Louis. However, winds will continue to be gusty out ahead of the front so keeping the car on the road will require a little bit of attention. By then end of Friday, the cold front will have made its way into Missouri, but winds will be lighter over central TN, where we're parking in Nashville for the night.
DAY THREE
Once again, it's a race against the cold front. By morning, rain and thunderstorms will have made their way to Memphis, with a chance of a few spotty showers pushing as far east as Nashville. Things should dry out as we head southeastward through Atlanta, as high pressure over the East Coast will put the kibosh on any significant amount of showers pushing too far ahead of the front. Winds will be a lot calmer today as well as we push towards FL, due to the high pressure. Mostly clear skies should greet us in Gainesville as we arrive in the late evening. Saturday night in a big college town, surely there will be a couple of parties to relax after a long trip!
This sounds great
Posted by Ryan
Right now in Minneapolis, its cold enough that I can see my breath. The past two days in Gainesville, they saw mostly sunny skies and temperatures that climbed into the low 70s. That sounds like a little slice of heaven. Not distracted by the amazing weather, Accuweather had the best forecast.
Actuals: Tuesday, High 70, Low 42
Wednesday, High 76, Low 42
Grade A
Columbus, Georgia to Gainesville, Florida
Posted by Ryan
It's a little shorty with this shift, that will take less than 5 hours. We're headed south into Florida, a trip that will cover 279 miles. If you do the math, that means a slow pace of 59.4mph. Let's go ahead and inch our way to Florida.
Not only will the drive be brief, it will be remarkably easy. There could be a few lingering clouds over southern Georgia, but really nothing that should hinder our drive. Things will simply clear out, probably by the time we reach Albany, Georgia. Sunny and seasonably cool conditions await us in Gainesville.
