Updraft Category Archive: Northern lights

Return of La Nina may mean a "real" winter

Posted at 4:50 PM on August 5, 2010 by Paul Huttner (1 Comments)
Filed under: Aurora, Climate, Northern lights, Phenology

Soak up all the heat and humidity summer has left folks. La Nina is back.

NOAA's Climate Prediction Center officially confirmed today what meteorologists and climatologists have been watching fo a while, La Nina returned in July.

La Nina is the cool phase of what's known as the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Water temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean fluctuate every 3 to 5 years between the warm El Nino phase and cool La Nina episodes. The latest readings show sea surface temperatures around -1.0 degree Celsius in much of the tropical Pacific.

La Nina has widespread impacts around different parts of the globe. It can enhance hurricane activity in the Atlantic. Though the 2010 Atlantic Hurricane season has been relatively quiet so far, The National Hurricane Center today updated its seasonal forecast to continue the prediction of an active season.

For Minnesota and much of the USA, the effects of La Nina are most pronounced in winter. La Nina winters have a statistical bias toward being colder than average in the Upper Midwest. Winters can also trend snowier in Minnesota, especially when compared to El Nino winters like last year. The Twin Cities received 40.7" of snowfall last year. The 30 year average is 55.9".

Cricketometer:

Have you noticed how loud the crickets are these nights? It seems as if a cricket boom has hit the weather lab. The deafening roar can be beautiful to some, and annoying to others.

Female (left) an Male (right) crickets image by Jim Mason. Courtesy Great Plains Nature Center web site.

No matter what you think of crickets sounding off at night, you can use the little buggers to approximate the temperature. Here's how:

Count the number of "chirps" in 15 seconds and add 37. That should give you a close approximation of the current temperature in degrees Fahrenheit. This is a fun exercise for kids of all ages on a warm summer night.

My favorite local phenologist Jim Gilbert used to say that cicadas would only sing (sounds more like screaming to me!) when the air temperature reached about 80 degrees. I guess they like the warmth to get those "cicada pipes" in action.

Cicada stands guard Photo credit: Bruce Marlin

One more shot at northern lights?

There may be one last shot of solar wind headed for the earth tonight according to spaceweather.com. Keep an eye out if you are out late tonight for possible auroras in the northern sky. Best viewing is away from lights looking north.

PH

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Fresh air filters in

Posted at 8:30 AM on August 5, 2010 by Paul Huttner
Filed under: Aurora, Hurricanes, Northern lights

What a difference a day makes.

A dry and welcome transfusion of clean Canadian air is giving air conditioners a rest in the Upper Midwest today. Dew points have dropped from the tropical 70s into the comfortable 50s over the past 48 hours.

The drier air will last through Friday, before a warm front gurgles back north and brings a renewed surge of 90 degree heat and sticky humidity this weekend.

Dew points may spike well into the sticky 70s again by Sunday!
(click to enlarge image)

As the front bubbles north Saturday, it's likely a few thunderstorms will follow. One or two has the potential be severe later Saturday night into Sunday, according to SPC.

Aurora strikes again:

Reports indicate the northern lights flashed again last night in northern Europe. Apparently the sky was lit brightly enough to show the aurora over the city lights of Stockholm, Sweden. Amazing images were also captured over Norway.

Check out spaceweather.com to see the latest images.

Colin part 2?

The remnants of what once was tropical storm Colin show signs orf renewal in the Atlantic. NHC says there is a 50% chance that the system may reach tropical storm strength once again.

The suite of forecast models steer Colin harmlessly out to sea away from the east coast.

PH

Northern lights dazzle Minnesota Tuesday night: Encore tonight?

Posted at 3:25 PM on August 4, 2010 by Paul Huttner (7 Comments)
Filed under: Aurora, Northern lights

Forecasting weather here on earth is tough. Forecasting space weather is even tougher, but last night's forecasts of auroras hit the jackpot in parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin.

While haze, humidity and clouds made for iffy viewing in parts of Minnesota last night, conditions were perfect along the North Shore. Reports indicate a vivid northern lights show last night in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Check out the photos Travis Novitsky captured last night between 11pm and midnight near Grand Portage overlooking Lake Superior. You can see the green rays of the aurora dancing in the night sky, as the moon rises over the big lake.

(click imgaes to enlarge)

Here's a link to Travis' excellent aurora gallery.

Anatomy of an aurora:

Northern lights are produced when bursts of solar energy rush through space and interact with the earth's magnetosphere.

Here's the scoop on aurora details from Wikipedia:

Auroras are the result of the emissions of photons in the Earth's upper atmosphere, above 80 km (50 miles), from ionized nitrogen atoms regaining an electron, and oxygen and nitrogen atoms returning from an excited state to ground state. They are ionized or excited by the collision of solar wind particles being funneled down and accelerated along the Earth's magnetic field lines; excitation energy is lost by the emission of a photon of light, or by collision with another atom or molecule:

nitrogen emissions
Blue or red. Blue if the atom regains an electron after it has been ionized. Red if returning to ground state from an excited state.

Northern lights captured by the ISS on May 24, 2010.

Better show tonight?

Another burst of solar energy is headed earthward tonight.

Here's the latest update from spaceweather.com.

GEOMAGNETIC STORM--MORE TO COME? The solar storm of August 1st sent two CMEs toward Earth. The first one arrived yesterday, August 3rd, sparking mild but beautiful Northern Lights over Europe and North America. The second CME is still en route. NOAA forecasters estimate a 35% chance of major geomagnetic storms when the cloud arrives on August 4th or 5th. High-latitude sky watchers should remain alert for auroras.

Clear skies less haze and lower humidity may make for an even better show tonight in the Upper Midwest. The best place to view the aurora is away from city lights, in a dark sky or overlooking a lake. Look low toward the northern horizon anytime tonight and you could see a rare treat in the night sky. Best viewing could be anytime, but most likely between 11pm and 3am.

PH

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