Northern lights put on a show - changing weather pattern happening now

Traverse City, MI

The Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) have put on quite a show the last few nights for much of the northern United States. Highly charged particles from the sun get caught in the earth's magnetic poles and interact with elements in the atmosphere. It's rare to see the northern lights as far south as Kansas, but sometimes the most intense solar storms can lead to a glimpse of the aurora. You'll know it when you see it because the views are quite stunning. 

courtesy Rachel Chazin - St Cloud, MN

We are definitely experiencing some hot weather this week in Kansas, but many areas have yet to hit 100 degrees. There's no doubt we will have plenty of chances to get that hot with July and August still to come. In fact, on average we see most of our 100 degree days in August. 

The weather pattern is changing as I type up this blog. We are going to see the temperatures cool down some heading into the weekend with chances for a little bit of rain. Forecast models show the showers and storms Thursday night into Friday will be scattered with the heaviest rainfall likely staying east of the Flint Hills. The big high pressure system that has been parked over Kansas is breaking down, and our winds in the upper atmosphere will shifting to the northwest. That will help drive a front across the area and allow temperatures to drop into the 80s for the start of the weekend.