Two opportunities to see the northern lights, Canada, but some will miss out
Depending on where you are in Canada, if you miss 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 display of the aurora borealis on Tuesday night and again on Wednesday.
According to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC), a G3-magnitude (strong) storm is possible Tuesday evening, with the peak lingering into early Wednesday morning.
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The Tuesday night peak will stretch from 7 p.m. to Wednesday at 1 a.m. EST. Peak times are subject to change, depending on the speed of the coronal mass ejection (CME).
The burst of higher G3 conditions will be temporary. There will be periods of G2-intensity before and after peak, with the visibility of the storm starting on Tuesday evening. NOAA's SWPC has issued a geomagnetic storm watch (G3) as a result.
Generally, G3 conditions occur approximately 15 days out of the year, with events being more frequent during solar-maximum years.
That strength 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.
Tuesday's display may become visible over many of the northern U.S. states, even extending to the Midwest and Oregon for G3 levels.
If that wasn't enough, one of the bigger showings of the northern lights may then happen on Wednesday.
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.
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 Tuesday and Wednesday, but if it comes to fruition will depend on where you are in the country.
The best viewing chances will be in Western Canada, on the Prairies, for Tuesday and Wednesday, where abundantly clear skies are expected.
Meanwhile, nearly all of Eastern Canada may have to sit both viewing opportunities out.
Two large lows are present in the region, with one over the Great Lakes that is helping to fuel ongoing snow squalls, and another over Atlantic Canada that will be rather impactful for Newfoundland and will likely obstruct views of the auroras.
For Tuesday's affair, no major disruptions to satellite and communication systems or power grids are expected, but it could lead to some issues, which are mitigable, including more frequent and longer periods of degradation of global positioning system (GPS) degradation.
On Wednesday, however, detrimental impacts to some of our critical infrastructure technology are possible, but mitigation is possible.
WATCH: Can you see the northern lights better through a camera?
Thumbnail courtesy of KathyJC.
With files from Nathan Howes, a digital journalist at The Weather Network, and Rachel Modestino and Tyler Hamilton, meteorologists at The Weather Network.