This weekend, Northern California may be treated to the sight of the northern lights, also known as the aurora borealis. Shawn Dahl from the Space Weather Prediction Center says that while the aurora is most likely to appear over Washington and northern Oregon, there’s a chance it could be visible in Northern California as early as Friday night. The activity may continue through Saturday morning, with a better opportunity for sightings on Saturday night into Sunday evening.
In some instances, the northern lights might not be visible to the naked eye in Northern California, but people have captured them using their cameras, according to Dahl. Normally, these displays are seen much closer to the North Pole in locations like Alaska or Norway, where people travel specifically to witness the phenomenon. However, the aurora has appeared farther south on rare occasions, as it did in May this year, which coincided with the strongest geomagnetic storm observed in nearly two decades.
Northern Lights May Grace Northern California This Weekend Amid Solar Activity Surge
The upcoming light show is linked to two coronal mass ejections (CMEs) from the sun, which release material that interacts with Earth’s magnetic field to trigger geomagnetic storms. These storms make the northern lights visible and are classified on a scale from G1 to G5, with G5 being the most severe.
The Space Weather Prediction Center has issued a watch for possible G3 conditions from October 4 to 6. According to Dahl, it’s unusual for Northern California to see the aurora during a G3 storm, but at the higher end of the G3 scale, sightings have been reported.
There’s a slim chance of seeing the aurora in Northern California on Friday night, with slightly better odds for Saturday night into Sunday morning, as the stronger of the two CMEs reaches Earth. After Sunday night, the activity will likely calm down, although some lights might still be visible. Gerald McKeegan from Oakland’s Chabot Space & Science Center points out that while forecasts show the viewing line extending as far south as central Oregon, it’s doubtful the aurora will be visible in the Bay Area.
This weekend’s aurora event is not expected to be as intense as the G5 storm in May, which brought sightings as far south as Southern California. The sun is currently in the active phase of its 11-year solar cycle, which explains the increase in aurora activity. This active phase results in more sunspots, which are linked to CMEs, creating more opportunities for the northern lights to appear at lower latitudes than usual.
