Wagsmich

Advanced Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2023
Messages
33
Location
Swartz Creek
Wanting to get to Tucson Arizona. Health reasons delayed us for a few weeks. How does everyone decide on the weather along there route?
Looks to me we can slide by right behind the storm hitting the south later. How does everyone decide? How do we know if highways are passable ?
Thanks
 
Wanting to get to Tucson Arizona. Health reasons delayed us for a few weeks. How does everyone decide on the weather along there route?
Looks to me we can slide by right behind the storm hitting the south later. How does everyone decide? How do we know if highways are passable ?
Thanks


You don't say where you are coming from.
There are a number of weather and road apps that you can add to your phone to check before you leave and along the route. I use FOX weather, My Radar, Ambient weather and Wunderground among others. Pay attention to the Weather Channel and most state highway patrol and DOT put out weather warnings. NOAA is also available.

Checking My Radar right now shows a winter storm warning from Dallas to Little Rock and a winter weather advisory for much of the mountains of western NM and eastern AZ. Wind warning in SW NM and SE AZ are something to be aware of as winds can get up in velocity and visibility from dust and blowing snow, if it is snowing can be dangerous.

If you are trying to come in from the east on I40 to Flagstaff and then south be very aware of what is going on with weather in the mountains of NM and AZ.
 
Thank you, I see the storm you’re talking about. I think we’ll be west of that. Going thru St Louis and thru Oklahoma. Thinking by time I get to NM & Arizona it might be passed there also
 
. How does everyone decide? How do we know if highways are passable ?
Thanks

I look up the weather forecasts for my *destinations* that are a couple of days out.

I load up the internet sites for state's DOT cameras. Here I'm always checking the mountain passes for conditions. The same website will tell you road conditions too.

I have the NOAA app so I can check wind speeds and radar. I use "Windy.com" on the PC (after being blown off the road in Wyoming) to see wind speeds too.

Finally - I tell myself to avoid falling victim to "get-there-itis". If the conditions turn bad - pull over. Wait it out. And pull over sooner than waiting.

Everything I need is in the RV. I've had to pull over from several hours to an overnighter once. Just waited for the sun and the plows to come out.
 
I'll just add that I'm a full-fledged nerd. So after being blown off the highway in Wyoming, I wrote my own 'app' that takes my current GPS location and queries the NWS data for current conditions and alerts for the next four hours. [ It'll also give me the SAME codes for my current location to program the weather radio, if I want.]

One minute we're just cruising up I-25 into Wyoming. Wife driving, me relaxing in the back. The next the RV is rocking all over the place and we're in the ditch. How she kept it up right, I have no idea...

That'll leave an impression on oneself. :)
 
Weather forecast

I like to take a look at RyanHall on Youtube. he gives a pretty decent look at the near term weather, next three to four days. He covers most of the US.
 
Easy to check weather forecast for towns along your rout

Most do a 10 day forecast.

I got smart last year on my trip to Gulf Coast Texas Louisiana Mississippi and Alabama from PHX and saw a wind storm coming thru, so left 3 days early to avoid it

Watch and adjust if needed
 
You just have to keep a close eye on the current conditions and forecasts and be willing to alter your route and/or schedule as necessary. Here are a few websites that I use:
For longer range planning I use the NWS Climate Prediction Center. It gives expected temperature and precip forecasts for periods ranging from a few days to a month ahead: https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/

For specific routes just before I leave and along the way, I use Morecast. It lets you put in a route/schedule and shows forecasts along that route: https://morecast.com/en/plan-your-route

When I'm on the road, I use the phone numbers and websites from this site to check for up to date road conditions: https://www.weather.gov/cys/unitedstatesroadconditions
 
Another excellent app is Weather on the Way. It allows you to select a destination and add stops along the way. Set your departure day/time and it gives you very accurate weather for each section of your trip. The wind forecasts alone have made it well worth getting for us. It also provides NOAA alerts, warnings, road conditions and other key data. Each state typically has a website for its highway division with maps showing conditions — definitely check those as you travel.
 
I downloaded On the Way app. Excellent app. Diffidently the one I’ll be using. Thanks
You're welcome. The Pro version is definitely worth the cost -- and you can cancel it when your trip is over. They are continually adding new features -- well worth the few bucks.
 
Drive weather

We use the "Drive Weather" app by Concept Elements LLC.

(This is Android, I don't know if there's an apple version.)
 

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