Better trip planning with AI

Christo

Administrator
Staff member
Oct 4, 2019
1,560
1,000
113
Weymouth, MA
www.cruzingear.co
I just finished planning our annual MA-to-FL trip using RV Life Trip Wizard and I wanted to see if I could use AI, in my case Perplexity Pro (PP), to give me the expected weather for the trip south. So, I exported the trip to an Excel spreadsheet, uploaded the spreadsheet to a Space in PP, and by chatting with PP it helped me to define the following task:

Task Details​

  • Task Name: Florida Trip Days 1-4 Weather Report
  • Prompt: "Provide daily temperatures (highs/lows for departure mornings, en route, and overnight arrivals), snow predictions, rain chances, and high wind risks for the Florida trip's first four days: Day 1 Weymouth MA to Frackville PA, Day 2 Frackville PA to Troutville VA, Day 3 Troutville VA to Walterboro SC, Day 4 Walterboro SC to Trails End RV Park Floral City FL. Use latest forecasts and format with markdown headers per day."
  • Schedule: Daily at 6:00 PM EST, starting *******, through ********. Timezone: America/New_York.
  • Model Preference: pplx_pro
  • Expiry Date: ********

Here's a sample of the output it provides, first as an email summary and then as a full report you can get by clicking on a link in the email:

  • Day 1 wintry risk: Early Weymouth–Frackville leg near freezing with 20–30% chance of light snow/rain; any wintry mix looks brief with minor, if any, accumulation.
  • Day 2–3 milder, mainly dry: Frackville–Troutville–Walterboro warms into 50s–60s°F, with low to moderate (20–40%) risk of light showers and no snow or high‑wind signals.
  • Day 4 into Florida: Walterboro–Floral City turns comfortably warm (highs mid‑70s°F), with only isolated light showers possible and winds generally light for RV travel.

Forecast confidence 8–10 days out is moderate; conditions may shift, especially for precipitation and wind. Values below are rounded approximations from current guidance and climatology for your dates and endpoints.


Day 1 – [date redacted]

Weymouth MA → Frackville PA
  • Departure (Weymouth, early morning):
    • Temps: around 30–35°F at daybreak, afternoon highs near 40°F.
    • Precipitation: 20–30% chance of light snow or rain showers; no significant accumulation currently favored.
    • Wind: light to moderate (5–15 mph), low risk of high winds.
  • En route (CT/NY/NJ/PA I‑84/I‑81 corridor):
    • Temps mainly mid 30s to low 40s°F daytime.
    • Precipitation: scattered light rain/snow showers possible; current guidance favors only brief, light wintry mixed pockets at higher elevations.
    • Wind: generally under 20 mph; low high‑wind risk.
  • Arrival/Overnight (Frackville):
    • Evening temps mid 30s°F dropping to upper 20s–low 30s°F overnight.
    • Precipitation: low to modest (20–30%) chance of flurries or light snow; accumulation, if any, should be minor.
    • Wind: light (5–15 mph); no significant wind concerns.

Day 2 – [date redacted]

Frackville PA → Troutville VA
  • Departure (Frackville, morning):
    • Temps low–mid 20s°F at sunrise, rising toward mid–upper 30s°F by late morning.
    • Precipitation: small chance (around 20%) of lingering flurries; mainly dry.
    • Wind: 5–15 mph, locally gusts near 20 mph; still below “high‑wind” thresholds.
  • En route (I‑81 PA/MD/WV/VA):
    • Temps climbing from low 30s°F in PA to mid 40s°F by central VA daytime.
    • Precipitation: guidance favors mostly dry travel, with only isolated light showers possible in VA stretches.
    • Wind: generally under 20 mph; no widespread strong crosswind signal.
  • Arrival/Overnight (Troutville/Roanoke area):
    • Late‑day highs mid–upper 50s°F, overnight lows low–mid 40s°F.
    • Precipitation: 20–30% chance of a light shower overnight; no snow expected at this point.
    • Wind: light to moderate (5–15 mph); low high‑wind risk.

Day 3 – [date redacted]

Troutville VA → Walterboro SC
  • Departure (Troutville, morning):
    • Temps low–mid 40s°F at daybreak, warming quickly into the 50s.
    • Precipitation: slight chance of a passing shower; bulk of current guidance keeps morning mostly dry.
    • Wind: around 5–15 mph; no notable wind hazard.
  • En route (I‑81 to I‑77/I‑26 into SC):
    • Temps ranging upper 40s–50s°F in VA/NC mountains to upper 50s–low 60s°F heading into SC.
    • Precipitation: low to moderate chance (20–40%) for scattered light rain, especially near and south of the NC/SC border; no snow signal.
    • Wind: typical 10–20 mph at higher elevations, but no organized high‑wind event indicated.
  • Arrival/Overnight (Walterboro):
    • Evening highs in the low 60s°F, overnight lows near 40°F.
    • Precipitation: small chance (20–30%) of a shower; mostly dry pattern favored.
    • Wind: light to moderate, generally under 15 mph; low risk of strong gusts.

Day 4 – [date redacted]

Walterboro SC → Trails End RV Park, Floral City FL
  • Departure (Walterboro, morning):
    • Temps mid–upper 30s°F at sunrise, quickly into the 50s–low 60s°F.
    • Precipitation: low rain chances, about 20% for a brief shower.
    • Wind: around 5–10 mph; no high‑wind concerns.
  • En route (I‑95/I‑10/I‑75 SC → GA → FL):
    • Temps trending from 50s°F in SC to upper 60s–low 70s°F by north‑central FL afternoon.
    • Precipitation: low rain probabilities overall (20–30%); any showers should be scattered and light, with no winter weather.
    • Wind: generally under 15 mph; no elevated wind hazard for the RV.
  • Arrival/Overnight (Floral City / Trails End):
    • Late‑day highs mid–upper 70s°F, overnight lows mid–upper 40s°F.
    • Precipitation: currently a low threat (around 20%) of a light shower; mostly dry with partial sun/cloud mix.
    • Wind: light and variable (often under 10 mph); no high‑wind risk indicated.

Overall: Primary cold/icy concern is early on Day 1 in MA/PA with a low‑end chance of light wintry mix; the rest of the route trends milder with mainly rain‑type showers and no clear signal for high winds on any leg at this lead time.

FYI, several places offer a free one year subscription to Perplexity Pro including Xfinity, PayPal, and Venmo. I believe the promotion through PayPal/Venmo ends on December 31st, so act fast if you're interested.

I'm so psyched to have this capability! It makes it so much easier to decide between the more scenic but hilly I-81/I-77 route and the flatter, uglier I-95 route.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Larry Davick
I like the Highway Weather app.


It shows the weather forecast along the route on an hourly basis, you can schedule rest stops, etc. - very useful.

IMG_5923.webp

Note the following scheduled rest stop added to the above
IMG_5924.webp

IMG_5925.webp

IMG_5926.webp
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: ScottC and Christo
I like the Highway Weather app.


It shows the weather forecast along the route on an hourly basis, you can schedule rest stops, etc. - very useful.

View attachment 17336

Note the following scheduled rest stop added to the above
View attachment 17337

View attachment 17338

View attachment 17339
Looks promising. I did not know this existed. Thank you for sharing.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Richard RV
I like the Highway Weather app.


It shows the weather forecast along the route on an hourly basis, you can schedule rest stops, etc. - very useful.

View attachment 17336

Note the following scheduled rest stop added to the above
View attachment 17337

View attachment 17338

View attachment 17339
Ooh, I'll check it out!