Halloween weekend treat in store for sky-watchers
Clear skies this weekend will give Whatcom County residents a good chance of seeing the northern lights on Saturday, Oct. 30.
A solar flare on Thursday, Oct. 28, sent charged particles and radiation toward the Earth, prompting forecasters to issue a geomagnetic storm watch for Saturday night.
It’s considered a strong storm, meaning that the aurora borealis, or northern lights, could be visible as far south as northern Oregon, according to NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center.
“We expect it to hit during the daylight hours tomorrow,” said Bill Murtagh, program coordinator for the SpaceWeather Prediction Center.
“It will be sometime tomorrow — hopefully later than earlier,” he told The Bellingham Herald.
“It will maybe give us a light show tomorrow night, maybe into Halloween morning,” he said.
To see the northern lights, find a spot with a view of the northern horizon that’s away from urban glare.
