When To See The Northern Lights In Washington State

An aurora may be visible in many parts of western washington across.
When to see the northern lights in washington state. 20 2019 at 4 57 pm. While they are famous for dazzling across the night sky the northern lights are actually influenced by the activity of the sun. This creates a lot of northern lights activity. In the winter months washington state isn t known for clear skies.
20 2019 at 7 08 am updated nov. Rodney viereck of the national oceanic and atmosphere administration noaa in the us explained to lonely planet that the sun goes through a roughly 11 year cycle which includes three to four years of solar maximum. Kp index required to see northern lights map courtesy of noaa. How to see the northern lights in the us only some states with regions that hug the border of canada such as aroostook county maine and the great lakes peninsulas can hope to see the lights.
During the winter these locations which are about 80 kilometers south of the canadian border and 150 kilometers northeast of spokane washington offer the dark clear skies ideal for northern lights viewing. The one mesmerizing place in washington to see the northern lights. It s a good sign if you see a thick aurora band with some areas of light yellow orange or better yet red on this map as opposed to just a thin or transparent band with only dark green. The northern lights may be making an appearance across the u s.
The state s reputation as a rainy and cloudy place is well earned during the aurora viewing season. See actual kp index in next section of the article. This is a live planetary k index chart straight from noaa gov. Actual current live kp index.
So if this is in the red and we re at a high of 7 we may get to see the northern lights here in oregon or washington state. Here s how and when to see them nov. It doesn t happen often but occasionally we re able to see the northern lights also known as aurora borealis right here in washington. The size of a visible aurora will be bigger than what is shown on this map because the map gives the overhead location of the aurora.
The aurora often reflects off the lake providing a special mirrored perspective of nature s light show. Northern lights visible around washington noaa forecasters say a steady stream of solar particles are speeding past earth this week creating amazing displays of the aurora borealis also known as. Early this week and should be visible in parts of washington.