The Northern Lights Could Be Seen As Far South As Vancouver This Weekend

A huge geomagnetic storm could bring the Northern Lights as far south as Metro Vancouver this weekend.

The latest aurora borealis forecast expects the peak of the display to be visible across most of B.C. and Alberta overnight between October 30 and 31.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration initially thought the storm would be pre-dawn on October 30.

The brightest and most colourful display will be for northern parts of B.C. and Alberta as well as southern areas of the Northwest Territories and Yukon, but given the strength of this particular storm, there is a good chance of seeing it from Metro Vancouver if you can find a dark spot.

In the graphic below, you can see that a Kp7 geomagnetic storm can reach south of Vancouver into the U.S. Geomagnetic storms are ranked between Kp0 and Kp9 depending on their strength and how big they get. This particular storm is predicted to be between a Kp6 and Kp7 storm which means it'll cover most of Canada and some northern states of the U.S.

In general, the Halloween weather forecast is looking good for B.C. if you're planning to go trick-or-treating, with sunny spells throughout the weekend and mild temperatures. With clear skies, those temperatures do drop off sharply at night though, with lows of -5 C expected for Interior B.C.

Enjoy the nice weather while it lasts though, as the Farmer's Almanac long-range forecast for November predicts lots more rain and the first snowfall of the season for inland areas.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.