You may have a shot at seeing the northern lights this weekend -- if weather complies And Seattle weather often helps in these cases

It won't be quite this strong, but you may be able to see the aurora borealis, or Northern Lights this week -- pending weather, as always. It won't be quite this strong, but you may be able to see the aurora borealis, or Northern Lights this week -- pending weather, as always. Photo: Gregorio Borgia, AP Photo: Gregorio Borgia, AP Image 1 of / 38 Caption Close You may have a shot at seeing the northern lights this weekend -- if weather complies 1 / 38 Back to Gallery

Once again, Seattle has two different storms battling for our sky: a return to classic Seattle rainy weather, and the northern lights.

The Space Weather Prediction Center has issued geomagnetic storm alerts that fall within G1 and G2 levels, thanks to a series of three Coronal Mass Ejections since May 10 -- or, in layman's terms, following a combination of solar flares and solar winds that take a few days to reach Earth, auroral activity will be high, and will create strong northern light displays that can be seen further south than they are usually seen.

Depending on the level that the storm reaches -- those G1 or G2 metrics -- it could reach as far south as Washington.

As of Wednesday morning, SWPC, which is part of NOAA, predicted some G2-scale storm activity between May 15 and May 17, meaning Washington could get more glimpses at the northern lights (which some residents were able to catch a bit of last night, before the clouds rolled in).

A trio of Watches: G1 (15 May), G2 (16 May), and G1 (17 May) is in effect. All this activity is due to anticipated effects associated with a series of CMEs which departed the Sun beginning late on 10 May. Visit https://t.co/4CNTc1IkKt for more detailed and updated information. — NOAA Space Weather (@NWSSWPC) May 14, 2019

Or at least that's the hope. As per usual, weather in the Evergreen State gets real persnickety when it comes time to see astronomical events. And this week's forecast is no exception.

Photo: NOAA - SWPC This alert from SWPC shows a map of where the aurora could...

RELATED: Rain expected all week long in Seattle, along with "seasonable" temperatures

Rain and showers are on deck for the next five days in Western Washington. And though there will be some brief dry periods with possibility for sun throughout Wednesday, by Wednesday afternoon rain and clouds are expected to return -- and linger through Sunday.

Grab your rain jacket as you head out the door this morning! Rain moves in from Oregon throughout the afternoon and evening hours! Showers continue at times into the weekend. #wawx pic.twitter.com/eS6ub8Hqqs — NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) May 15, 2019

That's not exactly terrible news, considering the National Weather Service noted that we were going through May with between 0-10% of our normal precipitation amount for the month, making for particularly dry conditions heading into wildfire season.

But it won't help any aurora chasers trying to get a glimpse of the northern lights this week. Couple that with a waxing moon giving off its own bit of light pollution, and it's no easy feat to get a peak at the northern lights.

With any luck though, some people can still try -- either around the clouds moving in, or just because of where they are. The best time to look for them, according to SWPC, between 9 a.m. PST on May 16 to the early morning on May 17.

Of course to get the best view, you should wait until it's dark out, head far from light pollution of urban centers, and try to get a good view of the northern horizon (which is typically where lights appear, outside of the far-north regions).