Well, let's say you are half-way across nowhere, Kansas, and the alternatives are to hole up and wait it out (if the lightning and tornadoes don't kill you the boredom will), or suck it up and hope you don't get sucked up?

I suspect it is far too late for the following advice:

Do the Pacific Coast route in the summer as a first tour. Not a whole lot of rain, and none south of Mendocino. It seldom gets too hot, too humid, or too cold. Ride North to South and you will usually have a tail-wind.