Remember that when you leave this Earth, you can take with you nothing that you have received, only what you have given, a full heart enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice and courage. -St. Francis of Assisi

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Weather Delay

This has been a terrible "weather" year.   My prayers are with the families in Joplin, MO - such a devastating tornado. Our lives can change in an instant, without warning.

Back in April when I first made a schedule, I planned on leaving on Thursday. Then I decided I would leave home on Wednesday, May 25th. Due to the weather in the areas I will be traveling to, I changed my departure back to Thursday, May 26th. I thought I may want to find a campsite where I could stay for longer than one night - midway through my route. I may just stay at each site one night, travel less miles per day and allow extra time - in case I have to change my route along the way. A lot of the State Parks that I called have flooding - in lakes and rivers - and more rain is predicted for a lot of these areas. I also found out that if I wanted a guaranteed site in these parks, the reservations have to be made at least 2 weeks ahead of time, and an additional fee is charged for the reservation. It's too late to make reservations, they still have first come, first served sites available. I have several campground books and memberships - so I am not worried about finding a place to park for the night. I use campgrounds for the electricity and I'm sure I could do without electricity for one night if I had to.


check out this link:  new TOR-CON weather prediction

At weather.com there is a new feature TOR-CON, this shows if there is a "possibility" or "probability" of a tornado and they rate the areas. They are predicting a stronge possibility of tornadoes through the area I would be traveling on Wednesday, and severe thunderstorms. I have decided that one day won't make a big difference in my plans. I have plenty of time, I do not have to be in San Antonio until June 2nd.
Severe Thunderstorms in red areas on Wednesday


Unfortunately, I will be driving through "tornado alley" to reach my destination. This is not the best time of year to be heading this way, and RV'ers are always talking about driving away from the bad weather. What if you are meeting family? Do you stay away from hot areas in the summer and cold areas in the winter, even if that means not going to a family reunion?

Anyway, once I decided to delay my departure, I wasn't rushing to get things done - so now -  I'm not really ready to leave on Wednesday.

7 comments:

  1. I would not go thru the tornado warning area for anything. I'm sure your Family would rather have you arrive late than not arrive at all!

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  2. When we return from the Southwest each year around the end of March we do not waste any time getting back to Ontario because we are aware how fast bad weather can develope along our route through Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, etc. Not worth it to try & second guess the weather. Take care & safely take your time.

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  3. When we hit the road, we hope to avoid severe weather as much as we can. While we realize this is not always going to be possible, we do plan to try to avoid likely "tornado areas." We are lucky though that our family is mainly located in the northeast, so by this time of year we will probably be back up here so we can visit everyone during the nice weather.

    PS Google wouldn't let me sign in to leave my comment, so I'm trying just under my name.

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  4. Bad weather is never worth the risk. Part of the RV lifestyle is not rushing.

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  5. waiting out 'nasty Mother Nature' sounds like a great idea!..safe travels Teri!!

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  6. I sure wouldn't want to be in that kind of weather. It so bad right now and so many are homeless, injured and worse.
    I was camping in March 2009 and we had a tornado watch, the camp host came around and said if things got bad to go to the restrooms. I thought my couch would flip a few times it was quite and adventure but sure don't care for a repeat.
    Be safe.

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Hi, I welcome your thoughts and comments.

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It is the sandstorm that shape the stone statues of the Desert. It is the struggles of Life that form a person's character ~ Native American Proverb