Auroras expected this weekend!!!

Sorry (most) Alaskans! Not talking to you….if it gets dark where you are, you do have a chance at seeing the lights Fri night, Sat morn, and Sat night. The midnight sun will block most Alaskans view of the aurora borealis. The Inside Passage in Alaska, cruisers and residents may see the lights, Vancouver areas (away from the city), Seattle areas (also away from the city lights), mid and southern Canada, the upper portion of the USA (border states), and also a good possibility of the middle states to catch a glimpse of the aurora. This all depends on the strength of the storm. For those aurora fans who live right on the line of “maybe”, the best advice is to get far from the city lights and face north. Time frame: any time its dark, but typically closer to the midnight hour and later. For a map that I have made, see below.

NOAA Space Weather predicted Kp level 6, G2 storm. This aurora is a coronal hole high speed stream, the same coronal hole that produced the Mother’s Day event that surprised us all with its excellent solar wind speeds. That aurora did reach to Kp 9 unexpectedly, and the same is quite possible again. Better to be ready than not. And it is the weekend, so no excuse! Well, poor weather could be an excuse. Your sky needs to be mostly clear toward the north. Always face north toward the north pole when you are in the states and Canada. For Australia and New Zealand, look south.

Both photos below were taken on May 8, 2016! Photos courtesy Holly Davison Photography and PicAx Photography Have a great weekend everyone, and see you on social media. Be sure to follow the new twitter feed from NOAA Space Weather @NWSSWPC and follow along on our twitter as well @AuroraNotify ~Amy