Dazzling Northern Lights to give Canadians an encore Wednesday night
Depending on where you are in Canada, if you missed Tuesday night's viewing of the auroras, Wednesday will offer an encore performance--potentially generating one of the best affairs this year so far
Get ready for a brilliant display of the aurora borealis on Wednesday night.
According to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC), a G4-magnitude (severe) storm is forecast Wednesday, following Tuesday's strong G3 storm.
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Wednesday's event has generated a rare G4 watch, which only happens a handful of times a year. The peak appears from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. EST. The arrival of CME would need to slow down for a better viewing opportunity. Peak times are subject to change.
Not all hope is lost, though. Since Wednesday's display will be considered a severe storm (G4), there will likely be a strong G3 showing after the sun sets, then continuing overnight.
That strength still gives a fair amount of Canadians a shot at spotting them. While the timing favours visible auroras all across Canada, active weather and cloud cover may get in the way.
A brief but intense period of auroras may reach a 7 on the K-index, which ranges from 0 to 9 and features higher numbers correlating to conditions that may allow auroras to dip farther south in latitude.
The G4 event will likely extend as far south as the northern half of the U.S., and maybe as far south as Alabama and Northern California.
Who will have the best chance of seeing the northern lights?
There will be multiple factors in Canada for a possible aurora show Wednesday, but if it comes to fruition will depend on where you are in the country.
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The best viewing chances will be in Western Canada, on the Prairies, for Wednesday, where abundantly clear skies are expected. Unfortunately, widespread cloud cover is forecast across British Columbia.
Meanwhile, nearly all of Eastern Canada may have to sit this second viewing opportunity out. Parts of eastern and extreme southwestern Ontario may get lucky and see a break in the cloud cover, but northwestern Ontario and parts of Labrador will have the best chance at seeing the auroras.
We could also see some major disruptions to satellite and communication systems or even power grids on Wednesday, leading to some issues, which are mitigable, including more frequent and longer periods of degradation of global positioning system (GPS) degradation.
WATCH: Can you see the northern lights better through a camera?
Thumbnail courtesy of Joanie Paquette Thibault.
With files from Nathan Howes, a digital journalist at The Weather Network, and Rachel Modestino and Tyler Hamilton, meteorologists at The Weather Network.