Northern lights potential Saturday night; breezy and chilly Sunday
Trick-or-treat forecast
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As mentioned in recent Updraft blogs, northern lights are expected to be visible in parts of the upper Midwest Saturday evening.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center has issued a geomagnetic storm watch:
Here are the details, from NOAA:
GEOMAGNETIC STORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR 30-31 OCT.
published: Friday, October 29, 2021 17:43 UTC
A G3 (Strong) Geomagnetic Storm Watch is in effect for 30 – 31 October, 2021, following a significant solar flare and Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) from the sun that occurred around 11:35 a.m. EDT on Oct. 28. Analysis indicated the CME departed the Sun at a speed of 973 km/s and is forecast to arrive at Earth on 30 October, with effects likely continuing into 31 October.
When the CME approaches Earth, NOAA’s DSCOVR satellite will be among the first spacecraft to detect the real time solar wind changes and SWPC forecasters will issue any appropriate warnings.
Impacts to our technology from a G3 storm are generally nominal. However, a G3 storm has the potential to drive the aurora further away from its normal polar residence and if other factors come together, the aurora might be seen over the far Northeast, to the upper Midwest, and over the state of Washington.
For additional information about space weather, geomagnetic storms, aurora and viewing tips, and CMEs – click the terms. NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center is the official source for space weather forecasts, watches, warnings and alerts. Visit www.spaceweather.gov for updates. Learn about Solar Cycle 25.
Will clouds get in the way?
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Cloud cover may obscure our northern lights viewing in many areas (including the Twin Cities) for several hours Saturday evening. Here’s NOAA’s NAM forecast model depiction of cloud cover from 6 p.m. Saturday to 6 a.m. Sunday:
The NWS has this guide to cloud cover Saturday night, and which areas could have a view of the northern lights:
You can hear updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the Minnesota Public Radio News network, and you can see updated weather info on the MPR News live weather blog.
Chilly temps return on Sunday
The Saturday high temp at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was 59 degrees. That’s 8 degrees warmer than our average Twin Cities high on Oct. 30. Sunday highs will be in the 40s:
Sunday wind gusts will be in the 20-28 mph range:
Plotted wind forecasts are in knots, with 20 knots equal to 23 mph. Far northern Minnesota could see a passing rain or snow shower on Sunday.
Trick or treaters will have 7 p.m. Sunday temps in the 30s in most of Minnesota and western Wisconsin, with temps close to 40 in the metro area and parts of southeastern Minnesota:
Here are some additional Sunday evening forecast temps:
Winds will be a bit gusty early Sunday evening.
Cool stretch ahead
Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to reach the lower 40s Monday, around 40 Tuesday and Wednesday, then lower 40s Thursday and mid 40s on Friday. We may see some 50s next weekend. The coming week looks fairly dry.
Programming note
You can hear my live weather updates on MPR News at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 4:39 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.
