Weather maps

[BikeFreak]

Hi,

As I will be doing Transamerica + Sierra Cascades summer 2012 I was shocked to see how hot it gets on the Sierra Cascades already in Northern CA. Hence, could somebody share a link to some nice US average weather maps (temperature, high/low for each month) to better understand the regions I will be passing.

Thanks in advance,

Lucas

[FredHiltz]

The back of your Adventure Cycling map shows just this data for several points along each route.

Get a lot of links with a Google search for a state name followed by the word climate.

Fred

[John Nelson]

Almost every web site that does weather does this. Here's one.

http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USVA0856

[valygrl]

http://weatherspark.com/

[BikeFreak]

I was thinking of something similar to this

http://image.weather.com/images/maps/forecast/hi5_600x405.jpg

However just averages for each month. I just cant find these average maps

Lucas

[John Nelson]

Weather can be very localized, especially in the West. Unless you are looking at the data for within 20 miles of where you are, you may get a wildly inapplicable data. I think you really need to look by city for the cities along your route.

[FredHiltz]

...However just averages for each month. I just cant find these average maps

I do not think you looked very hard with Google. I do not have time to do the whole task for you, but my search for Oregon climate just returned as it first entry http://www.ocs.oregonstate.edu/, where I clicked on Western Regional Climate Center Historical Summaries and found monthly summaries for hundreds of towns in California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.

Fred

[BikeFreak]

I would like to pick up this topic again:

What are the general comments on the Rocky Mountain weather conditions 2011/2012?

Reason for question:

Here in Northern Europe we have had an unusual winter so far: In Southern Scandinavia almost no snow and the temperatures have stayed above freezing almost all the time. We have had many storms and much rain but no snow and no ice. Last year at the same time it was bitterly cold for 2-3 months with snow and ice everywhere cause tremendous problems. At the moment I predict a very mild winter/spring 2012 in Southern Scandinavia.

Can anyone elaborate (or link to) on the general winter conditions in the Rockies this Winter? A cold and hard winter will probably cause late openings of mountain passes etc. Maybe 2012 is also an unusual year in the Rockies. I need these general observations for choosing a departure date. At the moment I will arrive in Pueblo, CO around June 20 heading North towards Missoula, MT and arrive there around July 1st. Because I want to connect with the Sierra Cascades going south again I will avoid the McKenzie Pass (which has worried me before) .

If I can, I would really like to avoid situations like this:

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=1&page_id=190494&v=6T

So, have anyone of you seen something in the news or watching the weather online?

Lucas

[John Nelson]

What are the general comments on the Rocky Mountain weather conditions 2011/2012?

Snow has so far this winter been far below normal in the Rockies. But that really tells you very little, since there is much of winter left and it is entirely possible that we will be above normal by the time the season ends.

You are extremely unlikely to run into problems on paved roads in the Rockies if you are starting from Pueblo on June 20. McKenzie Pass is very unlikely to give you problems--I would not avoid it; in fact, I would recommend it. Even if a rare storm makes McKenzie Pass impassible, a good alternative (Santiam Pass) is readily available.

The incident you cited occurred in May. Not only was that incident unusual, it's a completely different world a month later.

Your current plan is about as good as it gets, risk wise. I wouldn't change anything.

P.S. 11 days to get from Pueblo to Missoula is pretty fast, about 100 miles a day if you follow the TransAm. This doesn't allow much time to see the sights (e.g., Yellowstone).

[staehpj1]

http://weatherspark.com/

+1 My favorite site for that as well.