Here’s a good reason to call in sick (or late) to work on Monday

While we see our share of storms here in Whatcom County, this one might be worth taking a look at.

A solar flare erupted on the sun Friday morning, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Space Weather Prediction Center has issued a moderate Geomagnetic Storm Watch for Sunday night and Monday morning.

While solar flares are, in general, routine and frequent, they do not have much of an impact on Earth, other than triggering the Northern Lights.

Washington is usually too far south to see the Northern Lights, except for strong storms, according to a story on komonews.com, but this storm’s strength is predicted to be enough for the lights to reach Whatcom County and beyond.

And the good news is the weather forecast is predicting clear skies, and the moon will only be half full.

The best time to see the lights is typically between midnight and 2 a.m., KOMO reported, though it’s OK to take a peek at the northern horizon anytime it’s dark.

Here’s a good graphic USA Today Weather tweeted that explains the science behind the Aurora Borealis:

This story was originally published July 14, 2017 at 5:55 PM with the headline "Here’s a good reason to call in sick (or late) to work on Monday."