An aurora borealis appeared in the northwestover the beach at Caspian Lake just after midnight on Saturday, May 11.
HARDWICK – We continue to be in a showery pattern for the next week; very similar to what we saw last week in north central and northeastern Vermont. Multiple rounds of showers came through throughout the forecast period last week, with several opportunities for breaks in the sunshine throughout the five-day period.
A cold front passing through the region on Wednesday afternoon led to scattered showers and thunderstorms, some of which reached severe limits as they traveled through the northern half of Vermont. Some small hail was reported with the passage of these systems.
One of the breaks in the cloud cover was noticeable on Friday evening, as a brief window of clearing allowed viewers in our region to see the aurora borealis. Contrary to what many perceive as the classic viewing of the aurora borealis, many in northern Vermont were only able to see small wisps of white light that were evident in the northern horizon. However, cameras with longer exposure were able to capture very vibrant images of red and purple curtains and glowing green horizons. This process is the result of electrons released during a coronal mass ejection colliding with the Earth’s atmosphere as they are carried from the surface of the sun on the solar wind and interact with some of the atmospheric gases, such as oxygen and nitrogen, which leads to the variety of color that is seen in the sky. Geomagnetic storm conditions associated with this phenomenon persisted for three nights, however they decreased in intensity after Friday night and cloud cover hindered our ability to see this rare sighting at our latitude any further.
A system developing over the central Appalachians today will begin to move north and east toward the Delmarva Peninsula, at the same time that an associated cold front is passing through the eastern Great Lakes. This will lead to increasing clouds throughout the day with the development of a steady rain this afternoon. This is expected to persist through Thursday afternoon, before skies clear slightly overnight. Friday will feature partly sunny conditions, before the next storm system begins to approach from the Ohio River Valley. This will cause a cold front to trail through the region Saturday afternoon, with some lingering showers possible on Sunday, however we should expect some breaks of sunshine to peek through as well and become more prevalent by afternoon. Temperatures will moderate during this time, with highs generally in the mid-60s to start the forecast period, rising into the low 70s and peaking Friday and Saturday. Lows will be in the mid-50s. Now let’s take a look at that forecast:
Wednesday: Mostly cloudy. Rain developing throughout the day and becoming steady. High: 64. Low: 52.
Thursday: Mostly cloudy, becoming partly cloudy by afternoon. Scattered showers. High: 67. Low: 54.
Friday: Partly sunny. High: 73. Low: 57.
Saturday: Mostly cloudy. Scattered showers. High: 72. Low: 57.
Sunday: Mostly cloudy, becoming partly sunny by afternoon. Scattered showers in the morning. High: 70. Low: 54.
Tyler is our weather reporter and a community journalist. He works as a nurse and EMT, volunteers with Hardwick Rescue and helps to train new EMTs.
