Northern lights may appear tonight in Nova Scotia skies

Keep your eye on the sky tonight here in Nova Scotia, as we'll have another great chance to see the northern lights.

In fact, tonight's event could rival the noteworthy displays we witnessed in the region back in May.

The NOAA Space Weather Prediction Centerhas issued a geomagnetic storm alert with G4 conditions (severe) underway. This will bring thepotential for issues with the power grid.

The NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center is currently forecasting a KP index between 7.3 and 8.3 beginning Thursday evening and continuing into Friday morning.

The KP index ranges from zeroto nineand describes the disturbance of the Earth's magnetic field caused by the solar wind. Simply put:the faster the wind blows, the greater the turbulence and the greater the chance for the aurora borealis to be viewable.

For best viewing conditions, get away from city lights after dark.

The all-important forecast looks somewhat favourable for Nova Scotia, with partly cloudy skies. We will see a chance of showers Thursday evening, however, those showers will move out later eveningbefore the clouds build in again overnight and into Friday morning.

A chance of showers will linger overnight and right into Friday morning for Cape Breton, however,there should be some breaks in the clouds.

If tonight's conditions don't co-operate in your backyard, you may have another chance on Friday night. Mostly clear to partly cloudy skies, however, the KPindex will be lower, in thefiveto sixrange.

Overall, the sun is in a very active period in the course of its 11-year cycle.