A powerful geomagnetic storm may produce vibrant northern lights displays across a large swath of North America on New Year's Eve.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center has issued a G3 (Strong) geomagnetic storm watch for Tuesday and a G1 (Minor) watch for Wednesday. The green glow may extend as far south as "northern United States and some of the lower Midwest to Oregon."
The centre is also considering upgrading Wednesday's storm to a G2 storm watch, adding that it is difficult to ascertain the event's impacts until the coronal mass ejection is closer to reaching Earth.
The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) shows extremely high aurora activity on Tuesday, with vibrant displays possible overhead from cities such as Yellowknife to Portland to Cheyenne to New York City, and visible low on the horizon as far south as "Carson City, Oklahoma City, and Raleigh" (see slide two).
The university's online aurora monitor map shows what regions the aurora's green glow will likely reach and other areas where it is less likely. Additionally, a brief description of the aurora activity is below the map. You can switch to other days to see the forecast, too.
The map shows Vancouver is in an area where it is possible to witness a vibrant display on New Year's Eve provided the skies are somewhat clear.
Metro Vancouver weather forecast includes clearing skies for possible northern lights display
Wednesday provides a second opportunity to view the dancing lights in Metro Vancouver.
The UAF forecasts high aurora activity on Wednesday, although the display isn't expected to be as potent as the previous one. Highly active aurora displays may be spotted overhead from Inuvik to Juneau, Edmonton to Winnipeg and Thunder Bay to Sept-Iles. They may also be visible low on the horizon in places like Seattle, Des Moines, Chicago, Cleveland, Boston, and Halifax (see slide three).
The Metro Vancouver weather forecast has included plenty of rain and cloudy days but the forecast shows the possibility of clearing skies.
V.I.A.'s Downtown Centre Weatherhood station shows a high of 7 C and a low of 5 C on Tuesday with a mix of sun and cloud through most of the day. Wednesday's forecast includes similar temperatures, with a high of 6 C and a low of 3 C and a mix of sun and cloud.
People hoping to view the lights can use Environment Canada's online cloud prediction tool for astronomical purposes to see when skies are expected to be clear.
Locals recently captured green and purple hues across the Lower Mainland when the aurora put on a spellbinding display in mid-September. The colourful manifestation was visible to the naked eye overhead in locations across the region.
Stay up-to-date with hyperlocal forecasts across 50 neighbourhoods in the Lower Mainland with V.I.A.'s Weatherhood.
