A Good Chance of Seeing an Aurora Tonight over Northern Washington State

A moderate solar storm provides the potential for an aurora extending southward into Washington State tonight and tomorrow night.

In fact, quite a decent auroral show was evident last night over northwest Washington, documented by Greg Johnson of Skunk Bay Weather (on the northern tip of the Kitsap Peninsula).  Check it out below!

The current Kp score, a measure of solar activity, was as high as 5 a few hours ago, enough to push the aurora southward into the northern U.S.

The last prediction of the NOAA Space Weather Center shows the southern extent of auroral visibility reaching Olympia tonight (see below).

And about the same tomorrow (Wednesday) night (below)

We will also have the advantage of clear skies over much of the region (see visible satellite image below at 7 PM);  many of the clouds in the picture should fade out overnight as the Earth's surface cools.

If you can't go out at your location, check out the Skunk Bay aurora cam found here.

Good aurora hunting!