Hudson Valley Likely to Miss Tonight’s Aurora Borealis

A large geomagnetic storm erupting on the Sun will give parts of the northern United States quite a show again Wednesday night.

The aurora borealis (or Northern lights) occurs when the Sun releases super-charged particles that collide with Earth's upper atmosphere. NOAA'S Space Weather Prediction Center says this solar storm is a G3, which puts it right in the middle of the scale (with G1 being the weakest, and G5 the strongest).

Normally, the phenomenon is only seen in the higher latitudes. But due to the size of this storm, states as far south such as New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania could be part of the viewing area Wednesday night.

Check out this submission from the Catskill region Tuesday night.

Last night's KP 6 Aurora fighting thick clouds in the Catskill Mountains. New York. #ig_nycity #nycprimeshot #Loves_NYC #what_I_saw_in_Nyc #TopNewYorkPhoto #newyork #newyorkcity #abc7ny #newyorkydotgram #ArtofVisuals #newyork_instagram #nbc4ny #teamcanon #daltonimages #ig_unitedstates #nyc_uncut #itsamazingoutthere #urbanandstreet #weekly_feature #ig_exquisite #citykillerz #ig_today #itsamazingoutthere #ink361 #fox5ny #nyc #nypost #Catskills #aurora

A photo posted by Jennifer Khordi (@jkhordi) on Oct 26, 2016 at 4:20am PDT

How should the skies look around the Hudson Valley Wednesday night? Well, not so hot unfortunately. The weather forecast is calling for rain, and even some light snow across the Hudson Valley tonight, which will hamper any potential viewing.

Given the size of this solar storm, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says aurora conditions could stick around through the weekend. The next new moon falls on October 30, which will make night very dark, thus perfect for seeing any potential lights.

Maybe we'll just have to wait a few nights.