Northern lights may light up the skies in Maine

We will have another great opportunity to see the northern lights across Maine the next couple nights as a major solar storm reaches Earth.

A powerful solar storm will bring the potential for great viewing of the northern lights Thursday night.

The sun is nearing the peak of the solar cycle, which means frequent solar flares and ejections of particles from the sun.

The Space Weather Prediction Center is predicting a severe to potentially extreme solar storm for Thursday night, which would bring auroras all the way into the southern United States.

The northern lights may be easily visible into southern Maine. Head outdoors Thursday night and look north. The weather looks mainly clear for viewing outside of the mountains.

Beyond the potential aurora, Friday looks beautiful and sunny. Highs will be around 60 degrees Fahrenheit under sunny skies.

The start of the weekend also will be beautiful and sunny. Highs will again be in the 60s Saturday with breezy winds.

Things don’t look as nice for Sunday. We’ll be mainly cloudy with temps in the 50s. Showers will be possible by the evening, with a more steady rain possible for Sunday night.

Rain wraps up Monday morning, but there may be a few showers that persist into the afternoon. Temps will remain cool in the 50s.

Even cooler temps move in toward the middle of next week. Tuesday will only be in the low to mid-50s with a mix of sun and clouds. There may be mountain snow showers throughout the day.

Tuesday night looks very chilly. Below freezing temps will likely be widespread away from the coast, with a frost possible even to the coastline.

Wednesday looks even cooler, and many communities may struggle to get out of the 40s. A shower or two will be possible, and there is an increasing possibility of accumulating mountain snow. Stay tuned.