Not a whole lot of rain today. Few showers flared…then faded as they traveled, uh, yeah, north of the Pike (again) in the early afternoon. Cool front passes with little more than a wind shift this evening.
And cool it will be in the days ahead. Flat-out chilly air is pushing southeast behind this front: it’s already in the 50s through Southern Ontario and Western New York! We’ll ward this off with some mid-September sun tomorrow, but it won’t stop the overnight lows from dipping into the 40s after tonight.
Then along comes a weather system Saturday. Let’s see…a cool start, then increasing clouds. Yep, it’s going to be a long-sleeve kind of day. Showers should wait until very late day to gather, so much of the day is dry.
Sunday looks great and VERY September-like. Highs again make the 60s, but a brisk breeze will have you scurrying for mums and pumpkin lattes.
And this seems to be the theme for the long range too. Warm-ups are brief and muted and the temperatures stick to the upper 60-range. Another shot at some showers Tuesday, otherwise dry.
Aurora Watch!
Two big shots of magnetic energy were launched from the Sun Monday evening and Tuesday afternoon. They’re due to arrive here on Earth tomorrow (in the afternoon or evening, but there is lots of leeway in these solar forecasts). Prepare for some disruption to GPS and possibly cell service, but effects at this latitude will be less than at higher latitudes (over Central and Northern Canada). These flares rate at a X -class, the highest possible rating. However, since we are receiving a somewhat glancing blow from this mass of energy, the effects won’t be as intense as they could be. Astronomers are ranking the geomagnetic storm as a G3 (on a scale of 0-5). This ranks as a moderate to strong solar storm that will push the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) into the Lower 48 tonight and into the weekend.
Tonight (green shading is likely, green line is the southernmost extent):
Friday and Saturday night:
The best thing about auroras? You don’t need any special equipment. Just look to the north away from city lights….oh, and cross your fingers. These things are hardly predictable…or consistent.
Pete