Meteor shower peaks tonight - viewing forecast

Out of all the annual meteor showers we get, the Geminids ranks up there close to the top. It's worth checking out and since our Future Track has most of Kansas in the clear heading into Thursday night. A low deck of clouds may still be hanging over south central areas and the Flint Hills (this is the backside of the major wind generator that is moving through the Plains)

The meteor shower should peak around 6 a.m. Friday morning. In order to get the maximum experience, you have to get away from the city lights. In optimal viewing areas, you might see a meteor every couple of minutes. The moon will set just after 11 p.m. Thursday night, so that gives most of the night some very dark sky.

• Just look straight up
• Best time is anytime after dark, but will likely peak in the very early AM hours Fri.

Remember, the size of these meteors are roughly the size of sand pebbles, so very small. It's amazing we are able to see them at all, but as they burn up in the atmosphere, they certainly put on quite a show.

Enjoy a great weekend of nice weather. Temperatures will be in the 50s for both Saturday and Sunday and without much wind, we should end up with a great weekend for something outdoors.

Next week (Dec. 17-22):

Looks very warm - so expect some pretty comfortable weather by December standards to continue throughout the week.

Christmas Eve & beyond:
The models are trending toward cold weather, but it won't be here until just before Christmas, and right after the holiday, it looks to stay rather chilly. It also turns stormy once again around Christmas too, but as we mentioned earlier this week on the air, I'm still not seeing a White Christmas for much of Kansas. But we can keep dreaming.