Northern Lights possible Thursday night; will the weather cooperate?

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) – Central New Yorkers have another opportunity to view the Northern Lights Thursday night.

With a geomagnetic storm set to impact the Earth starting Thursday afternoon, Northern Lights, or aurora borealis , could be visible in skies across the northern tier of the United States including Central New York.

A G4 Geomagnetic Storm Watch has been issued for Thursday into Friday. Watches are issued on a G1 to G5 scale with G5 being the most extreme. A G4 watch was issued before this past May’s outbreak of vivid Northern Lights.

Not only could there be Northern Lights but disruptions to radio signals and GPS are possible.

However, being under a Geomagnetic Storm Watch does not guarantee they will occur here in Central new York.

What causes Northern Lights to occur?

The geomagnetic storm is a result of a coronal mass ejection (CME) from the sun. This is a process by which a solar flare creates a large suspension of plasma. Particles of that plasma then travel toward the Earth, down polar magnetic fields, and enter our atmosphere.

As these particles meet up with the different gases our atmosphere is comprised of, this is when the bright, colorful glow appears.

Here in Central New York, those bright strands of green and purple have the potential to be seen beginning later Thursday evening.

How’s the weather looking?

The weather over Central New York is cloudy much of the day Thursday with some breaks to sun in the afternoon.  Our biggest concern is we will be fighting a northwest wind flow over Lake Ontario so some lake effect clouds could linger into Thursday night off the southeast end of the lake close to Syracuse.

To get the best view (as long as the weather cooperates), it is recommended that you get somewhere well away from the influence of city lights in a completely dark area and look north after 10 p.m. If it becomes more likely that the Northern Lights happen and clouds look to stay stubborn and you REALLY want to see the Northern Lights then a trip west toward Rochester or even north toward Watertown might increase your chance for seeing the show.

The potential for Northern Lights is not as great Friday night

Stay tuned for updates and if you get a great picture of the Northern Lights, be sure to share it with us!

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