Philly northern lights forecast: Will solar storm shine aurora over Delaware Valley Saturday?
ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES - MAY 11: Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis), also known as aurora, colorful lights shift, illuminate the sky in Rochester, New York, United States on May 11, 2024. (Photo by Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Ima
PHILADELPHIA - Friday night, much of the globe was treated to a rare glimpse of the northern lights, or aurora borealis, thanks to enhanced solar flare activity from the sun.
But, in the Delaware Valley? Cloud cover ruled most of the night and into Saturday morning limiting any visual sighting of the incredible light display dancing across the sky.
However, some in northern parts of New Jersey caught a glimpse of the lights after 3 a.m., as well as in western Pennsylvania.
NORTHERN LIGHTS REACHING SOUTH
To recap, according to NOAA, a large sunspot cluster has produced several moderate to strong solar flares since Wednesday.
At least five of those flares were associated with CMEs, or coronal mass ejections, which are explosions of plasma and magnetic fields from the sun’s corona. The CMEs that were spotted appear to be directed toward earth and could trigger geomagnetic storms.
The NOAA then issued a rare severe geomagnetic storm warning when a solar outburst reached Earth on Friday afternoon.
NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center said satellites observed conditions that reached level 5 on their 5-point scale of geomagnetic activity on Friday evening, noted as an "extreme" event and the first such storm to reach that level since October 2003.
"Geomagnetic storms can impact infrastructure in near-Earth orbit and on Earth’s surface, potentially disrupting communications, the electric power grid, navigation, radio and satellite operations," NOAA officials said on their website. "Space Weather Prediction Center has notified the operators of these systems so they can take protective action."
The rare flares seem to be associated with a sunspot that’s 16 times the diameter of Earth. In 2003, an extreme geomagnetic storm knocked out power in Sweden and damaged power transformers in South Africa.
Northern Lights visible as far south as Florida, geomagnetic storm to continue
The Northern Lights were visible Friday from most of the continental U.S. for the first time since World War II. Geomagnetic activity is continuing through the weekend, possibly lasting into early next week.
WEATHER CRITERIA
The forecast for Saturday night calls for cloud cover, followed by showers and steadier rain overnight into Sunday.
There should be clear skies to see the Northern Lights, and skies in the region won’t be clear.
Unfortunately for us, NOAA says the highest energy Saturday night will occur from 11 p.m. through 2 a.m. Sunday morning. Showers are set to develop around 11 p.m.
We have a shot at some breaks in the clouds tonight but overall it will be cloudy.
If you notice a break in the clouds, take a picture with your night sight (longer exposure) setting on your phone.
Your phone has a chance at capturing the Northern Lights even if your eyes don't see anything.
MORE CHANCES
The sun is in an active cycle where it can fire off big blasts of charged energy this way.
The sun constantly sends charged energy. Some of that spills into the sky around the North Pole, where Earth's magnetic field comes together.
That charged energy interacts with air way up in the sky to create the Northern Lights near the North Pole.
When much bigger blasts of that charged energy sun hits Earth, the Northern Lights move farther south.
So the next time you hear a "G5" geomagnetic storm, and our skies are clear, head out after sunset through 1 a.m. and start taking pictures.
A lot of times, you won't see the Northern Lights with your own eyes around here, but your camera will.
Take a night sight picture (a picture with a long exposure time) for the Northern Lights to show up on your phone.
If you happen to be up late, go out when the skies are clear and take some pictures. It's unlikely the Northern Lights will still be around, but it's worth a shot if you're up.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.