- Strong solar flares hit Earth again, including aurora borealis potential
- Mid-level clouds may hinder viewing in Utah Wednesday evening.
- Clouds are forecast to break apart throughout the night, leaving clearer skies by the morning.
SALT LAKE CITY — Strong solar flares slammed Earth again on Wednesday, a day after Utahns were treated to a rare northern lights spectacle on Tuesday.
But there's good and bad news for Utahns hoping to catch another heavenly light show, says KSL meteorologist Devan Masciulli.
The bad news? Mid-level clouds continue to blanket most of the state, including shortly after sunset, when the University of Alaska Fairbanks projects the strongest pulse from the remaining pieces of the geomagnetic storm, which could impact the aurora borealis viewing.
The good news? Those clouds are forecast to break apart throughout the night and into Thursday morning.
"At least our top two high-resolution models do show clouds breaking up tonight," she said. "So, by 8 or 9 (p.m.), we'll start to see more partly cloudy skies in the West Desert. In the Wasatch Front, there's still going to be some clouds out there through (about midnight), but there's breaks — not completely overcast."
Clearer skies are expected in the early morning hours, making it easier for anyone staying up late or waking up early to view the aurora borealis.
It's unclear if it will be as bright as Tuesday night, but University of Alaska Fairbanks experts project that somewhat similar solar material and magnetic fields from the series of coronal mass ejections are possible from 5 p.m. on Wednesday to about 2 a.m. on Thursday in Utah. The sun sets shortly after 5 p.m.
Masciulli's advice? Maybe wait out the cloud break.
"There should still be enough energy from that solar ejection that we will see that aurora, especially across northern Utah," she said. "It might be just around the horizon in southern Utah if it's not as strong as (Tuesday's). It'll certainly be out there — the biggest obstacle is just the clouds."
