Local Weather

Good morning from the northwest end of Augusta, Maine. We have a very low overcast morning that is expected to burn off soon, with an expected partly to mostly sunny day for the remainder of today. Temps are expected to top out in the high 60's or low 70's.

This morning's readings are:

a relative humidity of 89% with a Dew Point of 54.5ºF.

The temperature is 57.8ºF.

The wind  velocity this morning is between 1.3 mph and 4 mph out of the Northwest. The wind is expected to pick up slightly during the day and shift to being in the South to Southwest. The highest gust recorded in the past month is 23.3 mph. 

our Barometric pressure is 30.10 and rising.

The barometric pressure should start to drop later today, and rain is expected to move in sometime during the overnight hours. In the past week we have received 1.22 inches of rain with a total for the month of 3.79 inches.

The short series on the nighttime display of the "northern lights" continues below.

 

When is the best time to watch for auroral displays?

Researchers have discovered that auroral activity is cyclic, peaking roughly every 11 years. The next peak period is 2013.

Winter in the north is generally a good season to view lights. The long periods of darkness and the frequency of clear nights provide many good opportunities to watch the auroral displays. Usually the best time of night (on clear nights) to watch for auroral displays is local midnight (adjust for differences caused by daylight savings time).

The best place to watch the Northern lights: they can be seen in the northern or southern hemisphere, in an irregularly shaped oval centred over each magnetic pole. The lights are known as 'Aurora borealis' in the north and 'Aurora australis' in the south. Scientists have learned that in most instances northern and southern auroras are mirror-like images that occur at the same time, with similar shapes and colors.

Because the phenomena occurs near the magnetic poles, northern lights have been seen as far south as New Orleans in the western hemisphere, while similar locations in the east never experience the mysterious lights. However the best places to watch the lights (in North America) are in the northwestern parts of Canada, particularly the Yukon, Nunavut, Northwest Territories and Alaska. Auroral displays can also be seen over the southern tip of Greenland and Iceland, the northern coast of Norway and over the coastal waters north of Siberia. Southern auroras are not often seen as they are concentrated in a ring around Antarctica and the southern Indian Ocean.

Areas that are not subject to 'light pollution' are the best places to watch for the lights. Areas in the north, in smaller communities, tend to be best.