On the heels of a chilly, brisk day today, we have a cold night in store tonight. Many of us will see temperatures dip into the upper 30s tonight under a mostly clear sky. The wind from today will back of a bit, but it won’t shut off overnight.
We should be far enough above the frost point for any widespread frost tonight, but if you’re in a spot that typically runs a few degrees cooler than the surrounding areas you may see some patchy frost. Typically that means valleys and low lying areas where the cool air can settle in for the night. But this isn’t out of the ordinary. We SHOULD be talking about frost right now. In fact far northern Worcester county and a good chunk of southern New Hampshire should have already seen a frost, at least based on the average.
The clear skies are a welcomed sight tonight because we have a good shot at seeing the northern lights! The solar storm happening now is rivaling the one we had back in May. While the peak is now (you just can’t see it because it’s still daylight), the storm will stay very active overnight tonight. There is a lot working in our favor tonight, most notably clear skies but also a quarter moon (think half of a moon) so not a TON of light pollution like a full moon would give. While you might get a look with the naked eye, it’s most likely you’ll need to use the long exposure on your phone for the nice pictures. But it’s worth a shot! As always, the farther away you can get from city lights, the better off you’ll be.
The solar storm index (Kp Index, technically) usually needs to be about an 8 to see the northern lights here in southern New England. Notice we stay at the 8 this evening but it will fall off after 8pm. So while still visible, you may need the assistance of your phone to get that nice, colorful look.
The map below shows where the northern lights will likely be visible with your phone. The shaded green means a good bet you’ll see them overhead with the possibility of catching them low on the horizon all the way south to the line.
Tomorrow won’t be quite as chilly as today. After a chilly start (in the 30s for many), we’ll rebound back to the mid 60s which for some, will actually be above average. We’ll also have a ton of sun to go along with those nice temperatures, giving us a beautiful fall day to end the work week.
Your weekend will start off on the same note with tons of sun, blue skies and mild temperatures on Saturday with more clouds, a cool down and afternoon/evening/night showers on Sunday.
