17 March 2015

Severe Geomagnetic Storm May Light Up the Sky with Irish Green Tonight

Posted by Dan Satterfield

Current location of the Aurora Borealis. from NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center.

Current location of the Aurora Borealis. from NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center.

tut_kp2Two coronal mass ejections over the weekend have arrived at Earth, and are producing a severe geomagnetic storm this evening. Besides causing long-range radio/GPS communication problems, it is already lighting up the aurora, and there is a decent chance of seeing the sky dance with a colorful display of the northern lights later tonight. A good measure of your chance to see the lights is the Kp index, and as of now, the index is around 7.5. Late predictions from NOAA/NASA are for the index to reach 8 and perhaps higher, perhaps bringing the lights down to the mid-latitudes from Maryland to Colorado.

If you can find a dark spot away from a large city with a good view of the northern horizon, then you may very well see the lights after dark. Keep looking because they can sometimes come and go quickly, and of course, the farther north you are, the better the chance. If you live north of 38 degrees, you have a shot at it.