What an aurora! Calgary treated to magnificent northern lights display
This was a mixed-bag weekend.
After periods of snow and graupel, we opened up for clearer conditions and a beautiful magnetic storm over Alberta.
The next three days will be a struggle to break free of a settling trough. The BC interior will be inundated with periods of snow showers, as will the higher-elevated portions of our province off the foothills.
The dropping-in of this low pressure system is going to full court press us with chillier air, creating a drastic drop from seasonal tomorrow. Then, the pull-back begins, and we find ourselves above normal just in time for the weekend.
How many of you took JD's advice last night?
NOAA saw this one coming from a mile (or a hundred-million miles) away – a moderate geomagnetic storm fired off from the sun, producing this aurora forecast:
<GeoMac>
And boy, did it deliver! It's quite rare to get an aurora that strong through light pollution, but hey, our photos of the day prove it's possible! This can happen when an exceptional amount of protons and electrons smack into gases in our upper atmosphere, producing billions of tiny chemical reactions, or "flashes." The resultant effect is brilliance.
YOUR FIVE-DAY FORECAST:
Today:
- Mainly sunny
Daytime high: 9 C
Evening: building cloud, low -4 C
Wednesday:
- Mainly cloudy, scattered afternoon showers
Daytime high: 5 C
Evening: mainly cloudy, low -1 C
Thursday:
- Mostly cloudy
Daytime high: 10 C - Evening: mainly clear, low -1 C
Friday:
- Sunny
Daytime high: 14 C
Evening: mainly clear, low -1 C
Saturday:
- Mainly sunny
Daytime high: 16 C
Evening: cloudy periods, low 4 C
On to those aurora pics:
Tito in Airdrie said "I've lived here for 50 years and never seen them this bright under city lights":
Henry caught them in Fort St John:
And Karen spotted them north of Calgary:
This was a special event. If you took some, send them by and I'll try to feature them tomorrow! You can submit your photos here, email me directly here, or tweet them over!
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