Clearing and cooler Friday in the Maritimes, possible aurora sightings?

Broken cloud and a few spotty showers start Friday evening followed by a clearing trend that leaves just some patchy cloud around by midnight. During the overnight hours some returning cloud off the Gulf of St. Lawrence is expected for southeastern New Brunswick, the North Shore of Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. Low temperatures for the region tonight come down into the low-to-mid single digits for most.

Partial clearing of cloud and spotty showers moving through Friday evening for the Maritimes. (Source: CTV News Atlantic)

Temperatures in the northwestern area of New Brunswick could fall between zero and two degrees by early Saturday morning, giving that part of the Maritimes the greatest risk of frost. Frost advisories continue for the same areas as the last couple of nights. Gardeners in the valleys of southern New Brunswick and valleys in areas of Nova Scotia inland around the Minas Basin and into Cumberland Colchester could have temperatures cool to near 4 C tonight. There is a lower, but not non-existent, chance of patchy frost there. The Cape Breton Highlands are also expected to fall to lows near or just below 4 C.

Frost Advisories continue for northwestern areas of New Brunswick. (Source: CTV News Atlantic)

Aurora forecast

A moderate geomagnetic storm (G2) is still forecast for Friday night by the Space Weather Prediction Center. In the past a moderate level event has been accompanied by glimpses of the aurora in parts of the Maritimes. It should be noted a moderate event will not come close to generating the aurora display created by the severe geomagnetic storm earlier this month.

Areas of the Maritimes that have a higher chance of glimpsing the aurora tonight are northern New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island per the aurora forecast from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. A faint showing near the northern horizon would be most likely. Standard night sky viewing tips include getting away from city lights and finding as much of an unobstructed view of the northern horizon as possible.

The aurora forecast for Friday night. (Source: University of Alaska Fairbanks)

Sky conditions around midnight for the Maritimes include some patchy cloud.

Sailing through the weekend

A northerly wind will keep the region a touch cooler for the weekend. Broken cloud is expected for most areas on Saturday accompanied by a low chance of showers for any given area, a 20-to-30% per cent chance. The chance of showers on Saturday is higher on the South Shore of Nova Scotia. Most high temperatures will be in the low-to-mid teens except high-teens and a few near 20 in western New Brunswick.

A decent forecast for those spectating the SailGP Halifax event. Just keep in mind being down by the waterfront can be cooler in a breezy wind.

Broken sun and cloud on Saturday. A cooler northerly breeze and a chance of some very spotty showers. (Source: CTV News Atlantic)

An ocean low-pressure system moves between Sable Island and the south coast of Newfoundland Sunday. The system bringing cloudier conditions to southeastern New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. Showers are expected to develop for those areas through the day. Due to the cloud and showers high temperatures for those areas will mostly be in the low-to-mid teens.

There is not a great forecast for spectators of SailGP on Sunday. Be prepared for showers and a more blustery north wind making it feel cooler than Saturday.

Any areas with fair weather on Sunday? Communities in northern and western New Brunswick are, so far, expected to remain out of most of the cloud and shower chances. Some of those areas could have high temperatures that reach the low-twenties.