If you didn't get to see the northern lights in the Tri-State on Friday night, you may be another opportunity to see them tonight!
We were flooded with photos from all of you of the auroras from Friday night, as this bucket list opportunity presented itself right in our backyard.
The Northern Lights area expected to be visible again tonight for much of the northern United States! They will be possible as far south as Alabama according to the @NWSSWPC! We should see them in the Cincy metro to!
— Brandon Spinner WCPO (@wxSpinner89) May 11, 2024
Best time 10pm-2am & get away from city lights! #wcpo @wcpo pic.twitter.com/GrhInH1yYz
In fact, the NOAA Space and Weather Prediction Center said this was the strongest solar storm we had seen since 2005, as it reached extreme conditions, G5. They also say that this is possible for a second straight night!
NOAA issues a geomagnetic solar storm watch when there is potential activity on the sun's surface that could send waves of high-energy particles shooting toward the earth. This is when the Auroras are likely to occur.
The Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) uses the "K-index," to forecast the impact of these solar events. This K-Index ranges from zero to nine, with nine being the strongest.
Normally, on the storm index, we would have to see an eight or nine to have the potential for the lights. Saturday night into Sunday morning the SWPC is forecasting the K-index to reach nine, which means we should be in the zone!
If fact, the SWPC says that these could be visible as far south as Alabama!
The historic geomagnetic storm continues... pic.twitter.com/LoMh0OomLu
— NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center (@NWSSWPC) May 11, 2024
You can check the latest aurora conditions and the 30 minute forecast from the Space Weather Prediction Center here.
While it should be able to be seen with the naked eye, a lot of people were able to capture the best views of the aurora with their phone's cameras. To do this, set your phone to a longer exposure of 3 to 4 seconds.
The best time to see these are within an hour or two of midnight. That means you should look to the skies between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. Also, visibility is best away from light pollution. So try to get away from the Cincinnati city lights for the best success! Oh, and we need Mother Nature to cooperate as well. Right now, skies are expected to be mostly clear!
Best of luck hunting the auroras tonight! If you do see them, don't for get to send us your photos!
