Thompson-Okanagan may not get the Northern Lights show previously predicted tonight

Earlier this week, we excitedly told you that the Northern Lights were expected to be visible in the Thompson-Okanagan tonight.

Unfortunately, things have changed since then and it’s now looking showcase of aurora borealis in the middle of the summer may not come to fruition.

It’s not a weather forecast issue, as it’s still expected to be fairly clear throughout the region this evening, but rather a solar forecast issue.

Over the past two days, the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ (UAF) K-index measurement for North America tonight fell from six to four.

“The K-index, and by extension the Planetary K-index (Kp), are used to characterize the magnitude of geomagnetic storms,” explains the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Any time Kp is measured at five or more it indicates a geomagnetic storm, which means Thursday night could turn out to be a prime night for the Northern Lights.

At six, it looked like seeing the Northern Lights would be a sure thing tonight, but at four, it looks like catching a glimpse of the phenomenon is a pipe dream.

The UAF says auroral activity will still be "active," but not "high" as previously expected.

That means aurora borealis will likely still be visible overhead in the northern parts of the continent, like Alaska and the Canadian territories, but for areas like the Thompson-Okanagan, it may only just be a brief and dim appearance on the horizon.

It also means that if you still want to try and catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights, it will be even more important to get away from city lights and into the wilderness.