Geomagnetic Storm Watch: Will We See Northern Lights in Schuylkill County?

On Friday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a G4 Geomagnetic Storm Watch that’s currently in effect.

NOAA says multiple coronal mass ejections – an eruption of solar material – happened between May 7-9. When those eruptions reach Earth, a geomagnetic storm could happen.

Those ejections are expected to happen between Friday evening and early Saturday morning. NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center believes this could make the Aurora visible to much of the northern US.

According to an Aurora Forecast map from NOAA, there’s about a 10+% chance an aurora will be visible in Schuylkill County at about 8:45 p.m. Friday.

That, of course, would be the case if the sky weren’t completely covered by clouds. So, the chance of seeing a potential aurora is about slim to none, of course.

This would be the second major sky-based rare phenomenon that’s been marred by thick cloud cover in Schuylkill County just this year. Earlier this year, the near-total solar eclipse was mostly covered by thick clouds here in the coal region.

The Northern Lights were visible not long ago in much of England. X users wasted no time sharing images of them to make you jealous:

Ok…. Did not expect this tonight. Colour me stunned.

Even better was someone playing "in the air tonight" really loudly. "I've been waiting for this moment, all my life…"#aurora #solarstorm #NorthernLights #skinnerskitchen pic.twitter.com/n7tVnSHFHe

— Tippers (@talktotippers) May 10, 2024

^{Featured image: Depositphotos}

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