Hi, I’m Edward! Welcome back to Fair Weather Friends. Each week, we give you a peek into the local and national weather — everything from the northern lights to lightning and the thunder. From Evanston, IL, this is Fair Weather Friends.
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Fall has gotten off to a bright start: The sun’s been shining, and temperatures have usually been in the 50s, 60s, and sometimes low 70s. We had some windy afternoons here in the suburbs of Chicagoland, but we also didn’t get much if any precipitation!
Hope you enjoyed this second summer of sorts, because now it’s time to cool things down. Today’s temperature climbed all the way into the 80s, but if your job is just beach, you may need to take a few days off. And for the rest of us, make sure you have a jacket on before you step outside. We’re looking at temps in the 50s and low 60s tomorrow and Sunday, plus a few colder days after that. Expect a windy weekend, plus a couple showers and a potential thunderstorm later tomorrow.
If you went out last night, you might’ve been treated to Mother Nature’s stunning signature light show, also known as aurora borealis or the northern lights. We probably won’t see this display again tonight, but we may have more opportunities in the future. Here’s why.
The Sun regularly generates energy and releases it in several ways: as light, as radiation, and as charged particles. Sometimes, the Sun lets out larger bursts of energy through coronal mass ejections.
Yesterday, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued an alert for a severe geomagnetic storm. These occur when a coronal mass ejection disrupts the Earth’s magnetic field.
Geomagnetic storms can temporarily disrupt Earth’s radio and power signals, but they can also give us stunning light shows. Some particles travel down the magnetic field and into the Earth’s atmosphere. When these particles interact with nitrogen, they produce blue and purple light. When they interact with oxygen, they produce red and green light.
The Sun is nearing the peak of its current solar cycle, meaning it’s more active than normal. In May, the Sun produced its biggest solar flare in almost two decades, leading to a similar light display.
The NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center regularly updates the public on geomagnetic storms. You can follow them at NOAA.gov for the latest aurora forecasts.
That’s all for this week’s edition of Fair Weather Friends — thanks for tuning in. Let’s hope this weekend feels more like a breeze than a storm. In Evanston, IL, Edward Simon Cruz, WNUR News.
