An active substorm is in progress. We had a pretty good dip right at 19:46 UTC, which equates to 3:46 PM, so not long ago. (Count backward 4 hours from 19:46 and convert from 24 hour time.)
Some chances we may see a few dips down to southerly bZ right at first dark, and through to dawn. This may be the last activity of the geoeffective period that began at the early part of this week.
Some clouds in the county, clear downstate.
I would say that just at first dark is going to be the best chance, since things are ramping up right now. Wind is still not where we want it, but, it’s headed somewhat that way. The moon won’t be an issue.
I’m trying to have a widget in the sidebar of the website that updates the NOAA/SWPC Solar wind readings. I’ve been having to update it manually. I worked on the code some this morning, but had to go move wood and ride around on the tractor. More work on that tomorrow. I’ve been trying to at least do quick Solar wind speed and trajectory updates as blog post updates.
In the meantime, you can check that sidebar and hopefully I’ve updated it once things start heading south. It may be easier to keep track of- you will all have to tell me. I do post it on here, but I’ve found that when I do a solar wind speed and direction update, it gets buried. See what you think.
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