Sweaty St. Louis
Posted by Ryan
St. Louis got under a warm front yesterday, causing temperatures to climb all the way to 96 with dew points well into the 70s. They had to pay their dues on Wednesday though, before those temperatures spiked to tropical levels. They saw three quarters of an inch of rain as that front passed through town on Wednesday and even then, temperatures were still in the Mid-90s. Such is summer in Saint Louis. Weatherbug had the top forecast in the STL.
Actuals: Wednesday - .74 inches of rain, High 94, Low 74
Thursday - High 96, Low 75
Grade: B
Saint Louis, Missouri to Billings, Montana
Posted by Ryan
We're essentially headed west from the end of yesterday's trip for our 2 and a half day trek from St. Louis to Billings. We'll cover 1276 miles in total, and 538.9 a day. Lots of interstates and a whole lot of South Dakota means that our pace will be at 67.3mph. Pretty swift. Let's be on our way.
DAY ONE
A system is getting ready to explode over Siouxland, as it's known, between Sioux Falls and Sioux City (South Dakota and Iowa, respectively). The associated warm front will be pushed north of Saint Louis, and the entirety of Missouri for that matter by the time we hit the road. Expect quality conditions for most of the day, only to see them dramatically deteriorate as we approach Omaha. Depending on how things go earlier in the day, things could be particularly nasty north of town with supercell thunderstorms just beginning to develop for the day between Omaha and Sioux City. We'll be happy to end the day in North Sioux City, especially if the thunderstorms are still raging.
DAY TWO
The general troughy pattern of the northern Plains will continue as we start our Friday drive. Showers and thunderstorms, though not as impressive as we will see Thursday, will crop up over northern South Dakota. Some of them could definitely sneak south to over I-90, our route for most of the day. Let's again make it clear: Nothing as strong or severe as what we are expecting Thursday. The rain may even end by the time we reach Rapid City. We'll keep soldiering on into Montana by the end of the day, and the town of Hammond in the far southeastern corner of the state.
DAY THREE
No complaints on Saturday. It's going to be beautiful, cool for the beginning of the day, warming up into the 80s by the time arrive in Billings. Hopefully won't show up with hail damage (or as I call it, speed dimples)
Saint Louis, Missouri
Posted by Ryan
I believe that this is the first time my forecast parade has taken me to St. Louis, the Gateway to the West. One of my favorite cities out there.
At 251PM, CT, St. Louis was reporting a temperature of 87 degrees with mostly cloudy skies and dew points in the mid 70s. A line of thunderstorms has erupted southeast of the city but north of Cape Girardeau, indicative of the weak troughing that has been rippling through the Mid-Mississippi Valley for the past several days. A mostly stalled boundary was running through northern Missouri and Kansas, triggering another line of thunderstorms for that area. The Storm Prediction Center was indicating a slight risk for severe thunderstorms for the area.
The jet runs west to east just north of St. Louis, so not much change is expected over the next 36 hours or so. Some training lines of thunderstorms should be expected across most of Missouri until a ripple appears along the jet. At the tail end of the jet, there is a weak perturbation that will evolve for the next several days. An area of low pressure will develop over the Dakotas and start lifting a warm front north away from St. Louis. Expect things to eventually quite down then on Thursday with temperatures climbing to the 90s.
Tomorrow - Showers and thunderstorms, High 90, Low 77
Thursday - Morning showers and storms, then hot, High 97, Low 75
TWC: Tomorrow - Scattered thunderstorms. A few storms may be severe. High 78, Low 78
Thursday - Times of sun and clouds (AM Storms). High 95, Low 77
AW: Tomorrow - Partly sunny, hot and humid with a shower or thunderstorm around; thunderstorms can be severe High 92, Low 79
Thursday - Hot and humid with intervals of clouds and sunshine High 97, Low 79
NWS: Tomorrow - A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy High 91, Low 75
Thursday - Partly cloudy (AM Thunderstorms) High 95, Low 78
WB: Tomorrow - Hot and humid. Partly sunny with a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. High 93, Low 78
Thursday - Hot and humid. Partly cloudy (AM Thunderstorms) High 96, Low 77
Looks to be hot and muggy in Saint Louis. Just another summer day. You can see the storms off to the southeast of town pretty well on satellite.
Harrisonburg, Virginia to Saint Louis, Missouri
Posted by Ryan
Back in the 1800s, the Mississippi seemed like some mythical destination for residents of the original Colonies. People would pack up and take weeks to get from the coast to a city like Saint Louis. Well, now it takes a day and a half to get from Harrisonburg to Saint Louis, a trip that covers 746 miles. That means we get to cover 510 miles per day at 63.6mph. Let's do what the pioneers couldn't and cover this ground quickly!
DAY ONE
The drive tomorrow, Wednesday, is going to be appalling. A cold front is going to set itself to stall east to west right along I-64. Yes, we will be taking I-64 almost the entire day, how did you know? Essentially, we'll be OK right up until we get to that interstate in West Virginia. Before we reach it, the drive will likely be mostly sunny with a few hit or miss showers. Then after we reach Beckley, WV, it will be almost nonstop thunderstorms. Some of them will have gusty winds, some of them will have hail, and almost all of them will have torrential rain. Ironically, the drive will end in Carefree, Indiana, which is west of Louisville.
DAY TWO
The drive on Thursday will be easier than the one n Wednesday, no doubt. The will be some more rain to be sure, likely from when we get up in Carefree until about Mount Vernon, Illinois, but this rain will be associated with a warm front and will likely be more rain than thunder, and won't create the torrential downpours we'll see on Wednesday. Heck, by the time we arrive in St. Louis, we can expect sunny skies. Hot, sure, but sunny.