The best meteor shower of the year will put on a dazzling show from Wednesday evening into the early morning hours of Thursday. But due to clouds carrying monsoonal rains, Southwest Colorado might miss the spectacle.
“Good news: maybe some better rain chances. Bad news for meteor watching, unfortunately,” National Weather Service meteorologist Lucas Boyer in Grand Junction said.
The Perseids meteor shower reaches its peak in mid August, with up to 100 meteors visible per hour. They originate from a large comet orbiting slowly around the sun whose debris breaks through the atmosphere to give the Earth an annual light show. According to NASA, the optimal viewing occurs during the pre-dawn hours Thursday but could start as early as 10 p.m. on Wednesday.
Boyer said lots of rain is expected in the mountain regions of Southwest Colorado Wednesday afternoon with more storms moving in during the evening. However, he cautioned that cloud forecasts can be uncertain with the potential for clear skies between storms or breaks in cloud coverage during the time of the meteor showers.
“You can get some viewing maybe in that evening time frame before those clouds set in. It looks like we kind of clear out maybe around midnight, and get a little bit of a gap. But it's not looking very promising,” Boyer said. “I think we likely keep enough cloud cover overhead that it's going to make seeing falling stars difficult.”
But – in case it’s clear – local weather spotter Jim Andrus has some suggestions.
“At midnight or later is the best times for seeing it,” Andrus said. “I have seen it years ago and sometimes it’s quite spectacular. It gets some great meteors that really stand out.”
Andrus estimated that he saw around one meteor per minute during his last view of the Perseids.
“It takes a little patience for something to happen,” Andrus said.
And patience, with the potential for disappointment, might be essential for this year's Perseids viewing in Southwest Colorado, alongside a cozy outfit.
“The night will be cool. If anybody wants to be out there waiting for meteors they probably should bring a coat along to keep warm,” Andrus said.
avanderveen@the-journal.com
