According to NASA, there was an explosion on the sun January 7th, which was Earth directed, which mean that northern lights will be possible for some northern dwellers depending on weather conditions.
Here's a video of the X1-Flare from NASA's SOHO
Northern Lights Forecast
The forecast here from the Geophysical Institute from the University of Alaska Fairbanks shows promise for quite a few folks near the international border both Thursday and Friday!
Forecast: Auroral activity will be high. Weather permitting, highly active auroral displays will be visible overhead from Inuvik, Yellowknife, Rankin and Igaluit to Juneau, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay and Sept-Iles, and visible low on the horizon from Seattle, Des Moines, Chicago, Cleveland, Boston, and Halifax.
Forecaster Comments: A large, Earth-facing solar event occurred on Jan 7, 2014. The effects of this event should reach Earth sometime on the 9th of January. Our short term forecast is not available, so you should watch the Current Aurora Activity panel at the Auroral Forecast website: http://www.gi.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast
See more HERE:
Planetary K-Index
If you're interested and in a potential view zone, keep an eye on this index as this is a pretty good indicator for when the northern lights may be visible. When the K-Index jumps into the yellow or red category, then you'll know that the solar storm has reached our atmosphere!
Here's your Planetary K-Index Link:
Cold Air Finally Fades
Thanks to WXIA-TV out of Atlanta, GA for these cold weather images from the recent cold snap. Keep in mind that temperatures AM Tuesday and AM Wednesday were colder than some spots in Alaska!
Ice cube for giants?
Someone forgot the memo to turn the car wash off during extreme cold weather events! Either that or the car wash got sick.
Record Cold - Past 7 Days
According to HamWeather.com there have been nearly 650 record low and record low max temperatures over the past week.
Where You Impacted By the Cold?
As a St. Cloud State University alum (Go Huskies!) - I wanted to pass this along since it has timely weather ties. If you were impacted the recent cold blast, students and professors invite you to take a short survey
"The objective of this Post Storm Survey (PSS) is to gain insight into decision-making related to hazardous winter weather. This information will be vital for the weather forecasting community in learning to better communicate the threat of hazardous weather. This research is one of the critical tools in bridging the gap between the weather community and users."
short 'post storm survey' HERE:
See more about the survey HERE:
Warming Trend!
This is great news, right? After record cold, some of us will be back to average later this week, but warmer than normal temps return by the weekend!
Thursday's Highs
Thursday's High From Normal
Saturday's High
Saturday Highs From Normal
Massive Lake Effect Snows
Another massive lake effect snow event has unfolded over the eastern Great Lakes Region as this latest Arctic air mass moved through.
See a full list of webcams HERE:
Here's a snowy scene from the Redfield, NY, which is located on the Tug Hill Plateau downwind of Lake Ontario.
Here's another from Lowville, NY also downwind of Lake Ontario
Digging Out
Hey thanks to Karen Miller-Rickard for this snowy picture out of Rodman, NY where they're attempting to dig out from some significant snow tallies!
Feet of Snow
Here were some of the snow tallies from Wednesday prior to the snow machines shutting down! Note the near 3ft. report out of Watertown, NY!
More Weather on the Way...
As we move through the end of the week, we'll have to keep an eye on a system that will slide through the middle part of the country.
Watch towards the end of the loop as the low mentioned above comes together in the central part of the country... Note the snow potential on the northwest side of the system and the heavier rain that beings to develop through the central and lower Mississippi Valley.
3 Day Precipitation Forecast
According to NOAA, the 3 day precipitation forecast brings copious amounts of heavy moisture across parts of the Pacific Northwest, especially in the higher elevations of the Cascades and Olympics. We'll also see some decent moisture return to parts of the south, where thunderstorm can't be ruled out later this week.
3 Day Snowfall Potential
There will be no shortage of snowfall in the western mountains. How about those snow amounts along the higher terrain in western British Columbia! Note also the snow potential over parts of the Midwest later this week. Some of this snow could be shovelable thru early Saturday morning.
Thanks for checking in, have a great rest of your week! Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @TNelsonWNTV
