Parts of the country, including Northern California, could see the Northern Lights on Friday because of a severe solar storm.
The Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) said it observed at least five coronal mass ejections, which Meteorologist Dirk Verdoorn describes as when sunspots build up so much energy that they explode into space and release charged particles.
Those ejections are what could trigger the colorful auroras in the sky.
Here is what to know about the possibility of viewing the lights in the state.
Verdoorn said Friday night is when you could see the aurora.
On Saturday, the lights will only be viewable from Portland, Oregon, and northward.
Much of the state likely won't be able to see the lights. However, those along the border with Oregon have the best chances of being able to see the aurora in the sky.
SWPC said the solar flares are strong enough for the center to issue a "Severe (G4) Geomagnetic Storm Watch," the first since January 2005. Geomagnetic storms are rated from 1 through 5.
Verdoorn said the sun has been active lately with several sunspots on its surface. Sunspots are areas of magnetic activity on the surface of the sun, which can build up energy to a point those coronal mass ejections occur.
While this is not unusual, when the explosions are pointed toward the Earth, the chance to see aurora increases.
The last "extreme," or G5-rated solar storm was Halloween 2003, SWPC said. That solar flare activity caused outages in Sweden and damaged power transformers in South Africa.
Sunspot cluster 3664, which is 16 times the diameter of our entire planet, is what's behind the five coronal mass ejections triggering the geomagnetic storm watch. Those ejections are what is making the aurora appear in lower latitudes of the country, including potentially the northernmost part of California.
The Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) said it observed at least five coronal mass ejections, which Meteorologist Dirk Verdoorn describes as when sunspots build up so much energy that they explode into space and release charged particles.
Those ejections are what could trigger the colorful auroras in the sky.
Here is what to know about the possibility of viewing the lights in the state.
Verdoorn said Friday night is when you could see the aurora.
On Saturday, the lights will only be viewable from Portland, Oregon, and northward.
Much of the state likely won't be able to see the lights. However, those along the border with Oregon have the best chances of being able to see the aurora in the sky.
SWPC said the solar flares are strong enough for the center to issue a "Severe (G4) Geomagnetic Storm Watch," the first since January 2005. Geomagnetic storms are rated from 1 through 5.
Verdoorn said the sun has been active lately with several sunspots on its surface. Sunspots are areas of magnetic activity on the surface of the sun, which can build up energy to a point those coronal mass ejections occur.
While this is not unusual, when the explosions are pointed toward the Earth, the chance to see aurora increases.
The last "extreme," or G5-rated solar storm was Halloween 2003, SWPC said. That solar flare activity caused outages in Sweden and damaged power transformers in South Africa.
Sunspot cluster 3664, which is 16 times the diameter of our entire planet, is what's behind the five coronal mass ejections triggering the geomagnetic storm watch. Those ejections are what is making the aurora appear in lower latitudes of the country, including potentially the northernmost part of California.
