Cloudy Skies Might Really Hamper Any Aurora Displays Tonight Across Western & Central Mass

For Tonight: After an absolutely memorable display of the Aurora Borealis last night, which was the most vibrant display in at least 2 decades, if not longer, there looks to be another chance of another show of the Northern Lights tonight.

To be honest, last night’s northern lights display was probably a generational event with aurora displays occurring as far south as the Florida Keys and even Jamaica!!

The problem with tonight is that widespread cloudy skies could really hamper any displays of the northern lights.

Generally cloudy skies are expected throughout tonight. That said, it may not be a bad idea to peek your head out a few times once it gets dark to see if there are any breaks in the clouds revealing any aurora displays. Minute to minute cloud cover forecasts are almost impossible to nail down. My advice to you though is to have extremely low expectations as a display like last night may not occur at all due to cloud cover.

Low temperatures will be near 40 Degrees. Winds will be South to Southeast at 5 mph before midnight and West at 5 mph after midnight.

I have attached some pictures I took last night of the northern lights display here in Sturbridge:

Sunday: Cloudy skies are expected throughout the day on Sunday with high temperatures near 55 Degrees. Winds will be Southwest at 5 to 10 mph.

Sunday Night: Severe geomagnetic activity looks to persist through Sunday night. This means that there ***could*** be another chance to see the northern lights, especially where skies across the entire area may be favorable.

Any leftover clouds early in the evening look to give way to clear to partly cloudy skies by or just before midnight. Clear to partly cloudy skies are then expected during the after midnight hours.

This means that if there are any aurora displays Sunday night, there will be a really good chance of seeing them, especially from about midnight and during the after midnight hours. Again though, keep your expectations very low as it’s possible that either the northern lights display may be very minimal or not occur at all.

Low temperatures will be between 40 and 45 Degrees. Winds will be Southwest at 5 to 10 mph.

Monday: Partly sunny skies in the morning will give way to cloudy skies during the afternoon. In addition, it looks like there will be some scattered showers during the mid and late afternoon hours.

High temperatures will be near 60 Degrees. Winds will be Southwest at 5 to 10 mph.

An Aurora Display Looks Likely Tonight Across All Of Western & Central Mass – The Question Is Will There Be Clouds Or Not

For Tonight: A huge sunspot ejected the largest Coronal Mass Ejection towards Earth since 2003 and 2005. This has led to a Severe Geomagnetic Storm which has just impacted the Earth. The question becomes whether these Severe Geomagnetic Storm conditions will persist through all of tonight or not. If they do, it will lead to widespread Aurora displays as far south as Virginia and the Carolinas, as well as far south as Kansas and Oklahoma. In fact, an Aurora may be possible to see on the northern horizon as far south as north Florida, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and Southern California.

The big question is how much cloud cover will there be tonight and will it ruin our chances of seeing an Aurora across the region.

I do think that the night will start out cloudy across the area, but looks to become partly cloudy for several hours during the after midnight hours of tonight. While not perfect, there could be enough breaks in the clouds so that you can see any Auroras that occur. Best advice to see an Aurora is to get out of the city lights and find a dark location with a good northern view.

Bundle up if you are outside tonight as low temperatures will be between 35 and 40 Degrees. Winds will be North to Northeast at 5 to 10 mph.

Saturday: An area of high pressure will try to nudge into the region during Saturday.

This will lead to a partly sunny day to occur with high temperatures near 55 Degrees. Winds will be East at 5 to 10 mph.

Saturday Night: An upper level low pressure system will push towards the region during Saturday night.

It appears that there will be plenty of clouds around during Saturday night and this will ruin any chances of seeing a second night of Aurora displays, which are expected across much of the northern and middle United States. Low temperatures will be near 40 Degrees. Winds will be East at 5 to 10 mph.

Sunday: That upper level low pressure system is expected to be positioned over the region throughout the day on Sunday.

This means that skies will be cloudy throughout the day on Sunday. There’s the possibility for a very isolated shower or two during the mid and late afternoon hours. That said, I think a majority of the area should stay dry on Sunday.

High temperatures will be between 55 and 60 Degrees. Winds will be Southeast at 5 to 10 mph.

Showers & A Few Thunderstorms Expected Wednesday Across Western & Central Mass

For Tonight: An area of high pressure will move to the east as a frontal system approaches from the Great Lakes region.

Clear skies are expected through midnight tonight with an increase in clouds expected during the after midnight hours. Widespread showers and a couple of thunderstorms are expected to push into Western Mass around sunrise Wednesday morning.

Low temperatures will be between 50 and 55 Degrees. Winds will be West at 5 to 10 mph.

Wednesday: That frontal system is expected to crawl across the area during the day Wednesday. This will lead to a couple of rounds of showers and thunderstorms during the day on Wednesday.

The first round of showers and a few thunderstorms is expected across the entire area throughout the morning. Some of these showers will be heavy in intensity.

A brief break in the shower activity is anticipated during the early afternoon hours.

A second round of scattered showers and thunderstorms looks possible during the mid and late afternoon hours of Wednesday. One thing that I will be watching with the mid and late afternoon thunderstorms is the possibility for a strong storm or two that could produce small hail and some 50 mph wind gusts. The area that has the highest chance of seeing a strong thunderstorm or two will be across Western Mass.

High temperatures will be between 60 and 65 Degrees. Winds will be South to Southwest at 5 to 10 mph.

Wednesday Night: Any leftover showers will come to an end by about 9-10 pm Wednesday evening.

Skies during the overnight hours of Wednesday night will be cloudy with areas of fog expected. Low temperatures will be between 48 and 52 Degrees. Winds will be West at 5 to 10 mph.

Thursday: Another frontal system is expected to lift across the region during the afternoon.

Skies will be cloudy throughout the day on Thursday and there will be widespread showers during the afternoon. High temperatures will be between 55 and 60 Degrees. Winds will be North to Northeast at 5 to 10 mph.

Friday: A couple of areas of low pressure will track to the south of the area during Friday. This will lead to a pretty wet day across the region.

Widespread showers are expected throughout the day on Friday and it looks pretty chilly with high temperatures near 50 Degrees.

This Weekend: A cool weekend in terms of temperatures are expected on both Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday looks cloudy with morning showers expected. Dry weather looks likely during the afternoon, but it will still be cloudy. High temperatures will be between 50 and 55 Degrees.

Sunday looks cloudy and there will be some afternoon showers around. High temperatures will be between 55 and 60 Degrees.