Northern lights shimmer over Juniper Ridge in Kamloops, 2023.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Cathy Suthill
July 23, 2024 - 4:34 PM
Sky watchers in the Okanagan and Kamloops may want to stay up a little later tonight as there's a chance to see the shimmering northern lights.
A coronal mass ejection erupted from the surface of the sun over the weekend and is aimed toward Earth, prompting a G2 geomagnetic storm alert by the NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Centre.
Coronal mass ejections are clouds of solar material from the sun’s atmosphere. The mass could cause a geomagnetic storm where charged particles can make it into the Earth’s atmosphere through the magnetic poles where they ionize gasses, causing auroras.
While aurora activity is hard to predict, the lights could be seen across Canada and some northern states overnight, July 23, according to The Weather Network.
The sun has an 11-year cycle and is reaching its peak of solar activity this year, increasing the chances of seeing the northern lights.
Geomagnetic storms are classified using a G-scale to measure their intensity, where G5 is the most extreme and G1 is minor.
READ MORE: LOOK UP: Best meteor show of the year underway in Kamloops, Okanagan
Tonight’s storm watch issued by the space weather centre is classified as a G2.
To view the light show, it is best to find a spot that looks out towards the north.
Environment Canada is forecasting clear skies overnight in the Thompson-Okanagan region with local wildfire smoke in Kamloops.
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