The northern lights may be active over much of the Province tonight due to a strong CME (Coronal Mass Ejection) associated with a solar flare that occurred yesterday. A CME is a large burst of solar wind and magnetic fields that comes from the Sun. It’s like the Sun shooting out a huge cloud of charged particles into space. When these particles reach Earth’s upper atmosphere, they can cause disruptions like auroras (Northern or Southern Lights) and sometimes affect satellites, power grids, and radio communications.

When looking at the forecast for the likelihood of the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) occurring, there is an index called the Planetary K Index. This is a scale from 0 to 9. Simply put, the higher the value, the farther south the northern lights can be spotted. Tonight’s forecast fluctuates between 7 and 8, with 8 making up most of the night. The image at the top of the post shows the view line. North of that line is where you want to be in order to have the best chance of seeing the overnight skies lit up. Notice ALL of the province is north of that line tonight?

The next item is what the viewing conditions will be like. The aurora can be as active as it wants, but if it’s cloudy, we will not see it. Thankfully, parts of the Province should see clear or partly cloudy skies tonight. Typically, that’s in Labrador, but not tonight. Tonight, the best viewing conditions will be found on the Island. The images below should show when the best time will be to see it in your area!

Something to keep in mind is that Space Weather forecasting is challenging. Sometimes, even events like this, which seem like a lock, do not pan out. I’ll keep a close eye on the data and pass along updates as needed.

If you end up seeing this beautiful display, please send me your photos via our website or my social media channels!