Davenport, Iowa to Missoula, Montana

Ryan Henning Leave a comment

We’re going to be taking a trip through the northern High Plains. The beginning of spring in this part of the world is liable to be pretty gnarly this time of year, but with the winter we’ve had, that just doesn’t seem as likely. We’re on a 2 1/2 day trek that will cover 1434 miles at a blistering pace of 66mph, with day’s one and two finishing after 528 miles.

DAY ONE (Saturday)

Davenport, Iowa

Despite the most formidable severe weather outbreak in at least a couple of years occurring in the middle of the country over the last couple of days, there is an unassociated Alberta Clipper moving through the Canadian Prairies. This will lead to a trough of cool air in the Upper Midwest as we get going on Saturday, but crisp blue skies will emerge by the time we hit Sioux City. The blue skies continue west past Mitchell to Plankinton, South Dakota, our stop for the night.

DAY TWO (Sunday)
Not much is going to change above ground as we continue westbound through South Dakota. We’ll take a jog north from the Black Hills and avoid Wyoming, but make it to the Canadian Plains southeast of Billings. The town we stop in will be Toluca, which is going to arrive about a half hour before we hit Billings.

DAY THREE (Monday)
Another clipper is going to sweep out of the Alberta Rockies overnight Sunday into Monday, and a lee trough will kick up some clouds in Montana as a result. There is a whole lot of Montana still left to drive through, and fortunately, it will all be dry. We’ll settle into Missoula and have a clear view of the scenery, because the weather will be quite cooperative.

Missoula, Montana

Missoula, Montana to Kingston, New York

Ryan Henning Leave a comment

This May forecast takes us from western Montana to the Hudson Valley of New York. Usually, I try to think of things that places have in common, and frankly, all I’ve got is that the second letter of both towns is the same. They aren’t close on the map, either, requiring a 4 day drive, with the 4th day especially long, to cover the 2416 driving miles between the towns. We’ll move at a pace of 69mph or 552 miles a day, so we will get the most out of the drive too. It’s going to take this long to get from Missoula to Kingston at a fast pace. World’s apart.

DAY ONE (Monday)

Missoula, Montana

Montana is a gigantic state, and we only ever seem to traverse it east to west or west to east. Our drive on Monday, of course, will be west to east, and we still won’t make it out of the Big Sky Country. High pressure is building in the High Plains, with a little bit of moisture on the back end of the ridge butting up against the foothills of the Rockies. We should leave early enough that we will avoid any rain, but the first whispers of clouds will be popping up for the day in and around Missoula, but the rest of our drive in Montana will be under blue skies. We’ll nearly make it to Glendive, Montana, before we turn in for the night.

DAY TWO (Tuesday)
Low pressure is going to get organizing in the Lower Mississippi Valley and moving north to the Great Lakes. This increased organization in low pressure will encourage more stable cold air to move in behind it. Eastern Montana, North Dakota and northern Minnesota will be clear and dry. We will reach Avon, Minnesota, just west of St. Cloud before the day is through.

DAY THREE (Wednesday)
It will be a narrow window between the large system moving into the Great Lakes, and another developing feature behind our route, moving out of the Dakotas into Minnesota and Iowa through the day. We’ll keep just ahead of system, but behind the larger one ahead of us, and voila! A wonderful day. We’ll get through the Twin Cities and Chicago, all the way to La Porte, Indiana. I’ve made a similar drive before, and it is a long one indeed.

DAY FOUR (Thursday)
A slow moving band of light precipitation left over from our trailing weather feature will start to be wrapped into a low pressure center developing in the southeastern US. This will mean less organization and slower progression. There will continue to be a threat of rain just off of our rear horizon, but it will mostly be clear ahead of us. When we hit the Appalachians, the rain will stall, and we should be in clearer and clearer air the further east we head. Downstate New York should be in good shape by the time we arrive.

Kingston, New York