Get ready to look up Blog Readers — tonight a major meteor shower will peak!
What's UP?
This meteor shower is known as one of the best and brightest meteor showers of the year.
The Geminids began appearing in the mid-1800s and continue yearly as Earth passes through the debris/dust field from comet 3200 Phaethon.
Tonight, as the shower peaks, 120 meteors per hour are expected, and with minimal moonlight and clearing skies, viewing should be pretty good.
To see this shower, you'll want to find the constellation Gemini known as "The Twins" in the night sky. Best viewing is after midnight until dawn, and Geminids are known to be bright, fast and yellow in color.
It will be cold out there tonight, so if you plan on stargazing, make sure to bundle up!
This is actually the first of two meteor showers lined up for the month of December, and, honestly, there is a lot going on astronomically this month!
Multiple planets will be visible as well as a "Christmas Comet." The comet known as Tsuchinshan orbits every 6.5 years and is lining up perfectly with Santa's arrival this year. Tsuchinshan will be visible through binoculars in the northern hemisphere by finding the constellation Leo.
There may not be a lot to talk about on the weather front lately... but on the astro front there are a lot of cool sights lined up this December! @KSHB41 pic.twitter.com/xUgxPnLHJr
— ☀️ Cassie Wilson (@CassieKSHB) December 12, 2023
What could be falling DOWN?
Next up on the weather front is a system we are watching in western Kansas.
This system in western Kansas will continue to churn and burn for a few days. Expect movement toward KC by Friday night... but even then there may not be a lot left for us! @KSHB41 pic.twitter.com/5f1ErPaOyQ
— ☀️ Cassie Wilson (@CassieKSHB) December 13, 2023
By Friday night, rain chances return to Kansas City, but don't get too excited. Think of this system like a taffy pull — we've got a low to our south and a low to our north — the main moisture track is with the low to our south.
But as we move through Friday, a low dropping in from Canada will start to pull moisture north along a boundary ... stretching the taffy.
By the time the rain gets to Kansas City, we've pulled the taffy to a mere string.
Notice the very light green on the map below. Maybe it's green apple taffy, but, anywho, this system is just stretched thin with low-end rain expected for KC Friday night into Saturday morning.
As we move through the weekend, expect a nice warming trend to kick into gear as we head toward Christmas.
Is the Heat Miser stealing Christmas?
Short answer, looks like Mr. Heat Blister won some bet with his brother.
We are watching the polar jet next week retreat back into northern Canada and the subtropical jet, while following an El Niño pattern, is staying quiet.
This all corresponds with an amplified ridge of high-pressure building and pumping heat into the center portion of the country.
We are watching a low form off of California to reinvigorate the subtropical jet a bit right around Christmas. So stay tuned, there is potential for wet weather across the southern tier if you are traveling for the holiday.
Overall, this system looks to stay wet versus white with how warm we will be next week. Temperatures are expected to be well above average in the 50s through much of the 10-day.
This leaves us with a not-so-white Christmas forecast with temperatures to be near 50 degrees. Cold air will be pooling from Nevada into the Dakotas, though a pattern change away from nationwide heat on Christmas looks possible.
Right now, we are looking to be above average temperature-wise through Christmas. But wil we be record warm? Not quite.
We've had nine Christmas Days in the 60s, and they all make up the top five warmest Christmas holidays.
Normal for Christmas is 40 degrees, and we should be at least 5-10 degrees above average as the forecast currently stands.
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