Northern Lights may grace Western Washington skies Friday night

Julia Dallas, MyNorthwest.com,KIRO 7 News Staff
·3 min read
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Mother Nature is giving North America a special treat Friday night. If you’re in the right spot at the right time, you could see the Northern Lights in Western Washington.

To see the aurora borealis, you’ll want to look north — but meteorologists said if the solar flare storm is strong enough, areas south of Seattle could see it too.

“So if this is one of your hobbies this is the night to do it because it’s a big one,” KIRO 7 Meteorologist Nick Allard said.

According to forecasts from the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the aurora is estimated to happen anytime overnight, from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.

However, the best visibility happens away from light pollution and on clear nights. To see how light-polluted your area is, visit ClearDarkSky’s light pollution map.

The spectacular event will occur because of a series of strong coronal mass ejections from the sun. NOAA said it hasn’t seen a solar storm like this since 2005.

The phenomenon comes as NOAA has issued a severe geomagnetic storm watch. The administration said if the storm is strong enough, it could disrupt GPS, power grids and high-frequency radio waves.

“This is an unusual and potentially historic event,” the Director of NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center, Clinton Wallace, said via NOAA’s website.

NOAA stated that while the geomagnetic storm may impact Earth’s infrastructure, it is also what triggers the magical aurora.

But if the Northern Lights don’t inspire you, there are plenty of other activities happening in Seattle this weekend. You can check out a list of events here.

Friday’s forecast is calling for sunshine and a few clouds in Western Washington. But don’t forget while the temperatures may reach 80 degrees this weekend, the water will still be cold.

“My biggest concern is that people see and feel the warm weather and they’re going to jump right into their paddleboard or their 15-foot boat, whatever that vessel is, and they’re not going to think about wearing their life jacket,” Rob Sendak, Boating & Winter Recreation Programs Manager at Washington State Parks, told KIRO Newsradio. “Wear that life jacket, regardless of what size or type of vessel that you’re on. When you’re around water, you never know when you’re going to need it so put that thing on.”

If you capture some spring pictures or do get to see the Northern Lights, please share your photos with MyNorthwest on our Share With Us page.

Contributing: Sam Campbell and Ted Buehner, KIRO Newsradio