Western WA expects northern lights this weekend when a ‘strong’ solar storm blasts Earth
The aurora borealis is expected to be visible in Washington from Friday through Sunday as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center issued a G3 (Strong) Geomagnetic Storm watch.
Will they be visible from cities in Western Washington? Will the clouds clear up in time to see them? Here’s what we know so far:
Will the northern lights be visible in WA?
According to NOAA’s experimental aurora dashboard, Washington is expected to see a strong geomagnetic storm starting late Thursday night.
The aurora predicted view line falls beneath Washington which means residents of the Evergreen State have a chance to see the northern lights.
Matthew Cullen, a meteorologist at the NWS in Seattle, said in an interview that there are currently two separate coronal mass ejections ,or solar material, that are traveling toward Earth which will create northern lights.
“We have seen more activity with respect to the sun with solar flares over the last couple days, and we’re expecting that that will bring the potential, at least, for some aurora activity over the next couple of days,” Cullen said.
Will Washington have clouds during the northern lights?
While the northern lights might be visible in Washington over the weekend, clouds could obstruct the view on Friday evening.
Cullen said there is a strong frontal storm that will bring clouds over the next couple of days that could make it difficult to view the northern lights.
“One thing that is a negative factor for us here in the Pacific Northwest is we actually have a fairly strong frontal system coming in that will bring a lot of clouds and rain that will be certainly (Thursday), and probably into Friday, most of the day, and even to the overnight hours again Friday,” Cullen said.
