Northern Lights reach Florida during solar storm
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — All across the United States, people looked out into the night sky Friday and got to see an amazing sight: the Northern Lights.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the lights were caused by a massive solar storm that were expected the Earth Friday through Sunday.
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“This is an unusual and potentially historic event,” said Clinton Wallace, director of NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center.
These northern lights were created by coronal mass ejections, explosions of plasma and magnetism from the Sun. The geomagnetic storms caused by the ejections can cause communication and power disruptions, but they also create the lovely aurora that people saw Friday night.
Photos taken by Floridians showed a purple-pink aura over the state, with the hue varying from location to location.
Chirleen Evans of Palm Coast took photo of the aurora, which cast a pink glow among the stars.
One St. Petersburg man posted a photo of the lights as he took off from Tampa International Airport.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d see the Northern Lights from Florida!!!” Chase Nawrocki wrote. “This is just after takeoff from Tampa over the Gulf of Mexico!!!”
(Credit: Chase Nawrocki) (Credit: Chase Nawrocki) (Credit: Chase Nawrocki)
The City of Venice also posted photos from citizens showing the northern lights visible from the Venice Fishing Pier.
Do you have a photo of the lights? Send us a photo and location by going to our Report It page!
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