Northern lights may glow over Washington state tonight
The Northern Lights may glow over Washington state starting tonight due to recent sun activity.
Charged particles from two coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are on track to hit the Earth’s magnetosphere late Wednesday evening, according to the Space Weather Prediction Center.
The resulting collision will cause aurora borealis to be visible over northern states if conditions are favorable, according to the center, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
NOAA satellites detected the two CMEs on Monday. The second CME will overtake the earlier CME, creating a massive cloud of charged particles, according to AccuWeather.
Under ideal conditions, AccuWeather reports an event of this size could cause northern lights to be visible over New England, the Great Lakes, the northern Plains and the Pacific Northwest.
As of Wednesday morning, AccuWeather indicated viewing conditions in most of Washington state were “fair” rather than “poor” or “good.” Montana is the state with the best chance.
Generally, people located at higher altitudes will have a better chance of seeing auroras. However, the presence of far-reaching clouds may obscure the lights for eager sky watchers, AccuWeather says.
Olympia and Tacoma may see some showers and partly cloudy skies tonight, according to the National Weather Service. Meanwhile, Bellingham may see some rain and mostly cloudy skies.
To see the aurora, AccuWeather recommends sky watchers head to darker areas away from light pollution. From there, watchers can turn toward the northern horizon and hope for the best.
The two coronal mass ejections detected on Monday erupted from a sunspot at least twice the size of Earth in a region named AR2975, AccuWeather says.
Sunspots are dark, cooler areas on its surface where there is intense magnetic activity, according to the SWPC. Rapid changes in these areas can cause solar flares, CMEs, radiation storms and radio bursts.
As a result of the recent activity, the SWPC issued a strong geomagnetic storm watch for Thursday. Such a storm could affect satellites and communication systems, but the notice says impacts to technology will “generally remain small.”
AccuWeather reports more opportunities to see northern lights may occur soon as the sun enters a period of increased activity.
The sun goes through an 11-year-cycle between periods of low and high activity known as solar minimum and maximum. Peak solar maximum is expected around 2025, according to AccuWeather.
This story was originally published March 30, 2022 at 11:39 AM.
