‘Solar tsunami’ could mean the Northern Lights will be visible in Whatcom County this week
Sky-watchers in Northwest Washington could be in for a treat, because the sun has been spitting out flares that could send the Northern Lights farther south than normal — and meteorologists said the clouds could cooperate in Whatcom County.
“Out of most places, up there (in Bellingham) is a better chance,” said Jake DeFlitch at the National Weather Service in Seattle.
DeFlitch told The Bellingham Herald that breaks in the clouds were possible both Wednesday night, March 30, and Thursday night March 31, when the aurora borealis or Northern Lights could be visible as far south as Washington state.
Best viewing will be in late evening or early morning before the “marine layer” of low clouds obscures the view he said.
NOAA’s Space Weather division had been reporting several solar flares and “coronal mass ejections” that send magnetically charged particles hurtling toward the Earth.
Viewers have the best chance of seeing the aurora on Wednesday night and early Thursday, NOAA said in a statement.
But its effects, although weaker, could last into Thursday night and Friday, April 1, NOAA said.
Astronomer Erika Hornecker, a research assistant at McGill Space Institute in Quebec, called this week’s sun activity a “solar tsunami.”
To see the northern lights, find a location away from bright city lights with a good view of the northern horizon.
Viewers in Bellingham have seen the aurora from Taylor Dock in Fairhaven.
