Geomagnetic storm could bring northern lights to NoCal
Northern California could see the northern lights this weekend, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
NOAA’s Space Center Prediction Center issued an alert Thursday for a severe geomagnetic storm that’s expected to arrive late Friday or early Saturday.
That means the colorful dancing lights known as the northern lights — or aurora borealis — might be seen in the night sky above parts of the United States on Friday through Sunday.
“The aurora may become visible over much of the northern half of the country, and maybe as far south as Alabama to Northern California,” NOAA said.
NOAA issued a G4level watch in advance of the solar storm, predicting a big disturbance in the Earth’s magnetic field.
“Watches at this level are very rare,” said NOAA, which last issued one in 2005.
COULD GEOMAGNETIC STORM AFFECT TECHNOLOGY?
NOAA warned that the geomagnetic storm may affect technology.
People can expect “possible increased and more frequent voltage control problems,” the agency said, as well as an “increased possibility of anomalies or effects to satellite operations. More frequent and longer periods of GPS degradation (are) possible.”
HOW DO NORTHERN LIGHTS OCCUR?
Auroras are caused by the activity of the sun.
“Our sun is constantly spewing out high energy particles out into space,” said Kyle Watters, a professor of physics and astronomy at Sacramento State. “Those particles honestly would be fairly hazardous to us as human beings, but luckily for us, Earth has a magnetic field.”
That field traps those charged particles, he said, and funnels them either towards the north or south pole.
According to NOAA, the sun’s particles collide with oxygen and nitrogen atoms in the Earth’s atmosphere.
“What ends up happening is those trapped charged particles put on a really pretty light show,” Watters said.
Typically, auroras form about 80 to 500 kilometers, or 50 to 311 miles, above the Earth’s surface, NOAA said on its website.
WILL AURORA BOREALIS BE VISIBLE IN CALIFORNIA?
NOAA has an aurora dashboard that predicts the visibility of northern lights.
The northern lights are most likely to be seen Friday and Saturday in the states bordering Canada, including Montana, North Dakota and Washington state, according the dashboard.
Auroras are rare in California, but there have been recent sightings.
The northern lights made an appearance in the Golden State in March 2023, and more sightings were expected that November.
In December, NOAA scientists predicted peak solar activity in January and October, which could result in more dramatic light displays in the skies above California.