St. Joseph, Missouri to Victoria, Texas

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Could this job be done in one day? Maybe, but it wouldn’t be an entirely safe drive, so we’ll split it into a day and a half, covering 874 miles, at a pace of 67.4mph, meaning we will be done with our Sunday drive about 539 miles from St. Joseph.

DAY ONE (Sunday)

St. Joseph, Missouri

A dry cold front will be sweeping through the central Plains on Sunday morning, which is notable if you intend on driving a high profile vehicle down to Texas, as breezes will likely kick up in northern Kansas. It will still be breezy through Oklahoma, but just normal “Oklahoma breezy” and partly cloudy. Generally, look for pretty decent driving conditions. We’ll cross the Red River and finish the day in Corral City, between Denton and Fort Worth.

DAY TWO (Monday)

So that just leaves us with a 5 hour jaunt through the Lone Star State to Victoria. Low pressure in the High Plains will start spinning, but we shouldn’t notice it at the surface before we get to Victoria. Instead, we will see clouds become more prominent, and maybe a little bit lower as the day progresses, meaning a grayer end to the trip than we began.

Victoria, Texas

Winter wins

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The forecast in St. Joseph last week speculated upon the effect an inverted trough would have in the Missouri Valley. The system would later bring severe weather to the Florida Keys, but it would only bring a case of the blahs to St. Joseph. Victoria-Weather had the best forecast, though the boundary was unable to squeeze out a drop or a flake last Tuesday (there was fog and mist, though), in what was an altogether solid forecast.
Actuals: Tuesday – High 32, Low 28
Wednesday – .01 inches of snow, High 34, Low 27

Grade: A-C

Weirton, West Virginia to St. Joseph, Missouri

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Weirton lies along the banks of the Ohio River, while St. Joseph is on the Missouri. Maybe they aren’t the most famous towns on their respective rivers, but they do offer a chance to get up close to them. It will require a day and a half drive over the course of 832 miles. Our first day will conclude 518.7 miles in, slowed by travelling off-interstate to a pace of 64.8mph.

DAY ONE (Tuesday)

Weirton, West Virginia

High pressure has nosed into the western Great Lakes, and will suppress much rising air, which usually just means that there won’t be any showers or storms in the area. This is true, but for our purposes, it means an inversion across much of the region as well. This suggests there will be A) low clouds and B) morning fog, thanks to the high moisture content in the region, thanks to snow melt and a lack of motivation to clear out. As the day goes on, expect improved visibility and maybe even a bit of sun in the afternoon over Illinois and Indiana. We’ll stop in Buffalo, Illinois, between Springfield and Decatur, for our sole break of the trip.

DAY TWO (Wednesday)
A weak feature sliding along the Texas Gulf Coast will extend an inverted trough to the Show Me State, which means a few wet flakes across the region. Given the temperatures, it seems likely that this will lead to some especially icy roads in northern Missouri, even if there isn’t a lot of accumulation. I’m concerned about the threat for some freezing mist in the morning. Drive safely!

St. Joseph, Missouri