Springfield, Illinois to Providence, Rhode Island

Ryan Henning Leave a comment

We are free of hurricanes for a couple of days, at least, so we can take a guilt free trip from Illinois to New England. The drive will cover 1,152 miles over the course of two days. The pace of the drive will be about 66.5mph, which is pretty good, considering it terminates in New England. The faster of the two days will conclude after 532 miles. Hurricane season is also foliage season, so New England is a perfectly reasonable place to visit.

DAY ONE (Sunday)

Springfield, Illinois

High pressure is parked over the southeastern part of the country. It was crucial to keeping Milton from moving any further north, and instead cutting across Florida and jetting into the Atlantic. The storm was very bad where it struck, but it missed out on a lot of geography, which is good news. Now after the ridge has performed it’s life saving duty, the northern fringe is pressing south, thanks to a strong wave skirting the Great Lakes. There is quite a bit of wet weather in Lower Michigan, ready to drift into northern Ohio. As we travel out of Illinois through central Indiana Sunday, it will be dry, but increasingly cloudy in Ohio. I think the rain will b in Pennsylvania be the time we get to the eastern part of the Buckeye state, but thre could be a small bit of damp in Palmyra (southeast of Cleveland near the Pennsylvania border), where our day will come to a close.

DAY TWO (Monday)
A surprising amount of cold air will trail the cold front with the system moving into the Great Lakes. It will be chilly when we start in Palmyra, and there will be a few spots of showers peaking around the western exposures of the Poconos. Further north, higher terrain in New England will likely see their first snowflakes of the year. As the sun comes up, and the cold air settles in and snuffs out any instability, we will get into clearer air. The drive through Connecticut will be thick with traffic, I am sure, but it will dry and chilly until we reach Providence.

Springfield, Illinois

Ryan Henning 1 Comment

There are countless Springfields across the country, but not many of them show up in the roster of potential forecast sites. Let’s make the Illinois version work for us.

At 1252PM, CT, Springfield was reporting a temperature of 79 degrees with a brisk west wind and clear skies. A cold front moved through the Great Lakes yesterday, with a stout ridge of high pressure building in behind the boundary.
A thermal ridge, backed by an upper level jet ridge will only reinforce the area of high pressure across the center of the country. Along with clear skies, expect some more unseasonable warmth in the Land of Lincoln.
Tomorrow – Mostly sunny, High 70, Low 42
Tuesday – Sunny, High 76, Low 38

TWC: Tomorrow – Sunny, High 71, Low 43
Tuesday – Sunny skies, High 75, Low 40

AW: Tomorrow – Nice with plenty of sunshine High 71, Low 43
Tuesday – Nice with plenty of sunshine High 73, Low 37

NWS: Tomorrow – Sunny, High 69, Low 46
Tuesday – Sunny, High 73, Low 44

WB: Tomorrow – Sunny, High 62, Low 50
Tuesday – Sunny, High 71, Low 47

WN: Tomorrow – Sunny, High 67, Low 46
Tuesday – Sunny, High 72, Low 45

CLI: Tomorrow – Sunny, High 69, Low 45
Tuesday – Sunny, High 73, Low 41

Pretty nice weather for like, May. A little strange for October. To give you an idea of how slow things are in Illinois, this is actually a satellite loop.

Dropping Off

Ryan Henning Leave a comment

Things sure can change in a week. We looked at Springfield, Massachusetts about this time last week, and it was ensconced in high pressure. This led to a pretty quiet forecast with a broad range of temperatures. Today, weather has rolled in, and many parts of New England and the Mid-Atlantic are seeing significant snowfall, and in some placed, seeing it for the first time in a while. The biggest hang up in the forecast was that dynamic change in temperatures, especially at night. Clouds never really played a factor, and the morning low on both Wednesday and Thursday fell below expectations. Clime had a good day, however, and was rewarded with the top forecast for the day.
Actuals: Wednesday – High 44, Low 19
Thursday – High 50, Low 22

Grade: C-D

Springfield, Massachusetts

Ryan Henning 1 Comment

I am sure this is something you all know out in New England, but I learned recently that Springfield is actually serviced by Hartford’s Bradley International Airport. They are so close!

At 1055AM, ET, Springfield was reporting clear skies with a temperature of 31. There is a steady north wind thanks to a vast gyre off the coast of New England, and some scattered clouds north of Massachusetts, but despite these factors working against the town, a pleasant February day is anticipated.
Surface high pressure will continue to remain in place for the next few days, but a jet ridge will start nosing into the area by the end of the week, with a warm front nosing in on Thursday, really bringing about a warming trend.
Tomorrow – Mostly sunny, High 43, Low 26
Thursday – Partly cloudy, a bit warmer, High 47, low 28

TWC: Tomorrow – Generally sunny despite a few afternoon clouds. High 44, Low 25
Thursday – Plentiful sunshine. High 47, Low 26

AW: Tomorrow – Plenty of sun High 46, Low 24
Thursday – Sunny and mild High 48, Low 25

NWS: Tomorrow Sunny, High 43, Low 24
Thursday – Sunny, High 46, Low 25

WB: Tomorrow – Sunny, High 40, Low 28
Thursday – Sunny, High 45, Low 28

WN: Tomorrow – Mostly sunny, High 43, Low 24
Thursday – Mostly sunny, High 46, low 25

CLI: Tomorrow – Partly cloudy, High 46, Low 25
Thursday – Sunny, High 50, Low 25

Wow, Clime is going for the gusto, boldly putting Springfield at 50. We’ll see how that goes.

Springfield, Illinois to Ogden, Utah

Ryan Henning Leave a comment

Every once in a while, I find myself surprised by the map, and today is one of those times. Ogden is nearly due west of Springfield, and will take a long two days to get to. The mileage is 1,304, and we will take care of 542 of those miles at about 67.7mph on Monday, with the real work coming on Tuesday. If you consider road tripping to be work, of course.

DAY ONE (Monday)

Springfield, Illinois

Did someone say “road trip weather”? No? That’s not something a normal person says? Well, in that case, I will say it. It’s good road trip weather in the middle of the country, and that will continue tomorrow, with high pressure and temperatures that aren’t too hot, aren’t too cold. We’ll navigate through Missouri and into Nebraska, making it past Lincoln to Shelton for our one overnight of the trip.

DAY TWO (Tuesday)
It’s always nice when Day Two is a Tuesday, because it’s significantly less confusing. OK, maybe only for my simple brain. The rest of the drive through Nebraska is going to be serene, but a short waved trough moving through the Rockies will make things significantly more interesting. Rain in the low elevation and snow at higher spots will be seen from Cheyenne westward. We’ll start to emerge from the wet and snow from Rock Springs on westward, and sunshine will return by the time we hit Ogden. Or at least, it would if we arrived when the sun was still up.

Ogden, Utah

Time best spent outdoors

Ryan Henning Leave a comment

Summer can be brutally hot through the center of the country. 90s with humidity aren’t out of the question in Springfield in August, so anything less than that is a treat. Consider last weekend to be a treat, then. On the 14th, there was supposed to be a bit of rain, but it was unseen in Springfield, leaving only the completely tolerable temperatures that maxd out in the 80s. The lows were a little warm, especially the 71 on the 14th, but much more accommodating on the 15th. Victoria-Weather and The Weather Channel were optimistic enough to put together these relatively pleasant days in their forecast, and shared the forecast victory.
Actuals: August 14th, High 86, Low 71
August 15th, High 86, Low 64

Grade: B-C

Great Falls, Montana to Springfield, Missouri

Ryan Henning Leave a comment

I’m always interested in the more diagonal routes. They take us over terrain we don’t always get to see. Such is the case with this ride, which will take about 2 1/2 days through the Rockies and High Plains. We’ll cover 1457 miles at a pace of nearly 70mph. The drive will conclude at the end of the first two days after 555 miles of sincerely wide open terrain.

DAY ONE (Tuesday)

Great Falls Montana – By Montanabw – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25249931

It’s extremely dry across so much of the country, and it has led to wildfires blanketing the country in smoke. Our route is affected by the smoke, even, with parts of US 212 closed because of the fires, requiring a trip through Wyoming on I-90. We’ll make it to Whitewood, South Dakota, in the Black Hills before the drive is over. A lobe of low pressure will swing into the Northern Rockies, and will bring rain to western Montana. We’ll stay dry in Whitewood, and throughout our drive.

DAY TWO (Wednesday)
Low pressure is going to deepen quickly in the High Plains east of the Rocky Mountains, but through the day in South Dakota and south into Iowa, the feature will only function to drive hot humid air north. Brisk, hot winds are expected, but the low isn’t going to move anywhere, so precipitation is not anticipated.

DAY THREE (Thursday)
The Gulf will be opened by the aggressive southerly flow, and showers with isolated thunderstorms are expected to start bubbling northward. Showers with a few rumbles of thunder are possible from Kansas City south to Springfield

Springfield, Missouri

Springfield, Missouri

Ryan Henning 1 Comment

Springfield is just north of the Ozarks in southwest Missouri. It’s a surprisingly well populated region, with Springfield the largest town to speak of.

At 1052AM, CT, Springfield was reporting a temperature of 74 degrees with clear skies. Dew points were in the mid 60s, which definitely led to some discomfort, and it will only get warmer through the day. There appeared to be a dry line south of town, as dew points and temperatures were significantly higher even in Oklahoma, not so far away. The boundary has led to a few scattered showers popping up in the region, but the heaviest rain was north of the aforementioned boundary.
The boundary responsible is eventually tied to a shortwave in the Great Lakes. High pressure is building over the north central US and will press south, limiting the flow of moisture into the Plains. Because the boundary is so removed from the parent low, which itself is only a weak shortwave, it won’t feel obliged to move any faster than the ridge sinks south. Clearing will finally come by Sunday with the Gulf effectively staunched. High pressure generally means cooler temperatures, as it will in Missouri for the middle of August. Well, relatively cool.
Tomorrow – Tomorrow – Partly cloudy with scattered showers, High 85, Low 69
Sunday – Mostly sunny, High 85, Low 66

TWC: Tomorrow – Scattered thunderstorms in the morning, then cloudy skies late. High 84, Low 69
Sunday – A few passing clouds, otherwise generally sunny High 84, Low 64

AW: Tomorrow – A thunderstorm in spots in the morning; otherwise, humid with times of clouds and sun Hih 81, Low 69
Sunday – Nice with times of clouds and sun High 82, Low 65

NWS: Tomorrow -A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, High 84, Low 69
Sunday – Mostly sunny, High 83, Low 65

WB: Tomorrow – Partly sunny with a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, High 81, Low 71
Sunday – Partly cloudy, slight chance of showers in the morning then slight cance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon High 82, Low 65

WN: Tomorrow – Partly cloudy with chance of storms, High 84, Low 69
Sunday – Partly cloudy with isolated showers, High 83, Low 65

FIO: Tomorrow – Mostly cloudy throughout the day. High 83, Low 67
Sunday – Clear throughout the day. High 82, Low 59

Radar with a few isolated showers rolling through the region Storms should remain non-severe, so that’s nice.

Springfield, Massachusetts

Anthony Dunkel Leave a comment

Only a fortnight left of shopping until Christmas! What will the weather be like in Springfield, MA as we head into the weekend to get those gifts?

At 1156pm EST, the temperature at Springfield, MA was 20 degrees under fair skies. High pressure is found over New England currently, but the next couple of days will see conditions deteriorate rapidly. An area of low pressure is developing in the Southeast and will scoot its way up the Eastern Seaboard throughout the day Friday. Rain showers will shift into the area by the evening hours, and increase in intensity overnight into Saturday as the low draws closer to the region. Some heavy rains are expected Saturday morning and should finally taper off some during the afternoon and early evening hours as the low shifts through New England. Winds are expected to pick up late Saturday as well, making for a rather miserable start to the weekend.

Friday: Increasing evening showers. High 40, Low 21.
Saturday: Heavy morning rains, becoming lighter in evening. High 52, Low 40.

TWC: Friday: Afternoon rain showers. High 39, Low 20.
Saturday: Rain. High 52, Low 37.

AW: Friday: A bit of afternoon rain. High 37, Low 21.
Saturday: Heavy rain tapering off. High 50, Low 35.

NWS: Friday: Mostly cloudy then chance of wintry mix. High 35, Low 20.
Saturday: Heavy rain, areas of fog. High 42, Low 35.

WB: Friday: Chance of rain showers. High 38, Low 20.
Saturday: Rain. High 53, Low 38.

WN: Friday: Cloudy with light showers likely. High 38, Low 20.
Saturday: Cloudy with light rain. High 50, Low 35.

FIO: Friday: Light rain starting in afternoon. High 43, Low 23.
Saturday: Rain until evening. High 56, Low 42.

Some high clouds are streaming over the area currently, but the system taking shape in the Southeast is what will bring our weekend rains.

Going the Wrong Way

Ryan Henning Leave a comment

With a feature moving through New England, it seemed fairly logical that temperatures would tumble in Springfield. It seemed even more likely that the rainier day, Monday, would be cooler than the drier day. As it happened, neither of these things were true, as the cloudier, rainier day ended up several degrees warmer than the drier Sunday. The National Weather Service correctly navigated the less than intuitive forecast for a victory.
Actuals: Sunday – .02 inches of rain, High 64, low 51
Monday – .46 inches of rain, High 68, Low 49

Grade: B-C