What is the perfect temperature? Weather preferences are subjective. Just this week in Baltimore we had a record low of 29°F on Monday October 19, followed by a high on Thursday of 78°F. That 49 degree swing is extreme, but we credit Indian Summer. There has got to be something in the middle for everyone. But what if you could have the ideal weather all year long? Would you drive thousands of miles to have it each day of the year? Arbitrarily using 70°F as the high temperature for a ‘perfect’ afternoon. Snow lovers on my Facebook page often tell winter haters to go to San Diego when an arctic blast hits. Sometimes it goes the other way in the midst of summer. But that is not ‘the spot’ every day. But tracking the spot each day for a year has been mapped out for you.
Brian Brettschneider is a Climatologist with a PhD and a sense of humor, or adventure. Take your pick. He is a man after my own heart with what he did here. He decided to have some fun with data. A LOT of data! He sorted through 8,000 weather stations across the US, looking for the 30 year average high temperature each day of the year. In fact, he added many more spots in Canada as well produced this animation showing the plot where the average high temperature is 70F throughout the year.
Then Brian came up with a journey across the continental US that you could make following the ‘perfect weather. Arguably this does not guarantee that it stays dry. But, if start on January 1st in southern Texas, drive across the US hitting spots each day where the average temperature is 70°F on that date, you eventually end up in, well, San Diego at the end of the year. He also made a longer route over 13,000 miles that includes Canada and his native Alaska. See both below each map and the itinerary. This does not guarantee the perfect temperature or that it will be dry. But it’s your best bet based on the stats. The irony of it all, this man loves snow. He has even remarked that he has hiked a mountain just to reach snow for the sake of it.
With reference to Baltimore’s BWI (for local purposes), if you use the arbitrary 70°F, we can expect that high temperature in two seasons on the dates between
- April 30-May 3
- October 5-7
That’s a total of only 7 days for ‘perfection’ and a chance to make a location on the trip. Baltimore is not a destination, but western Maryland made the route in early May.
This may also be a good stat to through out if you think we jump seasons too quickly and don’t have a long enough Spring or Autumn.
US Trip Route According Brian:
Itinerary below the map
The Contiguous U.S. version of the road trip is identical to the North American version up through the second week of June. Instead of heading into Canada, it hugs the Canadian border. Then …
• Near Glacier National Park, the route turns south along Highway 93 and passes Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park. The route then turns southeast and travels through central Wyoming before settling near Denver, Colorado.
• The next two months are spent leisurely traversing the Colorado high country ending up near Durango, Colorado.
• Once we make it to September, our trip takes us back through Yellowstone National Park and southern Montana, before turning south through South Dakota and into Nebraska.
• In October, the trip makes its way to near Kansas City, Kansas, Tulsa, Oklahoma, and ends at the Texas/New Mexico state line.
• The November portion of the trip follows Interstate 10 from Las Cruces, New Mexico, to Phoenix, Arizona, before departing for Las Vegas, Nevada, and ending near Los Angeles, California.
• December is another leisurely month that only takes us from Los Angeles to San Diego, California.
*This version of the route traveled through parts of 30 states. All-in-all we put over 9,000 miles on our vehicle.
North American Trip According To Brian
Itinerary below the map
Notice that Brian is from Alaska and somehow that part of the trip made a heart on the map. Coincidence? I think not…
• On January 1, the normal high temperature in deep south Texas is 70°F. This is a good place to start the trip.
• By February 1, our road trip has only progresses as far as Laredo, Texas. The next two months will be spent on Interstate 35.
• On March 1, the slow trek is only pulling up to the south part of San Antonio, Texas.
• Throughout the month of March, the higher sun angle warms things up and the trip has taken us to the Texas/Oklahoma border by April 1st.
• Now that April is upon us, we start heading east and northeast until we near the nation’s Capitol by the end of the month.
• During May, we go through Pittsburgh and Chicago and end the month in extreme northern Wisconsin on June 1st.
• A tour of the northern states is in order to during June. In fact, we go more miles in June than any other month. Starting around the second week of June, our route makes a right turn on to the Alcan Highway. We travel through Calgary and go past Whitehorse on our way to and through Alaska’s two largest cities. The month ends near Whitehorse (again) heading southeast.
• In July, we turn on Highway 37 and head south toward Bellingham, Washington, and finish the month in Portland, Oregon.
• The August portion of the trip is a scenic section along Highway 1 through Oregon.
• In September, we loop back onto Interstate 5 before turning due east in Eugene, Oregon. We continue through to the Snake River Plain in Idaho before turning south through South Dakota and into Nebraska.
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• The period of October through the end of the year are then identical to the North America route shown in the US route.
See Brian online
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