Major Solar Storm Could Bring Northern Lights To Denver Tonight
DENVER (CBS4) - A geomagnetic storm was being felt on Earth Tuesday in the form of fluctuations to power grids and producing the infamous "northern lights" in places like Canada, Iceland and Alaska.
The storm, produced by two separate eruptions from the sun on Sunday, Mar. 15 , had joined into one massive cloud that was impacting the Earth's magnetic field.
Early Tuesday the storm's intensity peaked as a G4 on a scale of 1-5, which is classified as a "severe magnetic storm."
When storms reach these levels they can occasionally produce the Aurora Borealis in places unusually far south, such as Colorado.
The following tweet shows the northern lights visible from western Colorado early on Mar. 17.
I contacted the observer and he confirmed this was seen with the naked eye.
Dr. Thomas Berger, Director of NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, says seeing the northern lights tonight in a place like Denver will depend on cloud cover, the position of the moon and the storm's intensity.
As of 2:30 p.m. MST, Berger said the storm was showing signs of weakening, but that fluctuations in intensity were also common.
(credit: CBS)
Berger said while it's not a slam dunk, the potential is high enough that he plans on being outside tonight looking at the sky just in case.
You can check on the latest updates about the solar storm by visiting NOAA's Space Weather website.
The current intensity of the storm and the forecast can be found at the top of the page.
IS THERE AN IDEAL TIME TO WATCH?
The short answer to the question above is not really.
It completely depends on the storm's intensity, so when you are monitoring the Space Weather Center's web page, keep a close eye on the "Now" status at the top of their page.
If it's G2 the chance of seeing the northern lights in Colorado is pretty low.
The chance would be better if it were G4.
In addition to the storm's strength, cloud cover and the moonlight also factor in to your chances of witnessing the northern lights.
If you get lucky enough to see the northern lights tonight, please email pictures to youreport@cbsdenver.com or share them on our Facebook page.
If you're on Twitter be sure to tag @CBSDenver on your tweet.
Meteorologist Chris Spears writes about stories related to weather and climate in Colorado. Check out his bio or follow him on Twitter @ChrisCBS4.
