Stargazers across Western Pennsylvania could catch glimpse of northern lights

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Stargazers across Western Pennsylvania could catch glimpse of northern lights

Joyce Hanz | Friday, August 19, 2022 11:56 a.m.

Senior Airman Joshua Strang | U.S. Air Force

The northern lights are visible in areas closer to the North Pole, such as above Bear Lake at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska.

The northern lights, an atmospheric phenomenon also known as the aurora borealis, could be visible tonight from Western Pennsylvania.

“Currently, the sun is producing Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) during a geomagnetic storm on the sun. It looks like the CMEs continue to be active, thus I would expect you’d still have a chance tonight,” said Pittsburgh National Weather Service meteorologist Myranda Fullerton.

Geomagnetic storm watches were in the forecast this week through Friday, according to the Space Weather Prediction Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

G1-G3 Watches are in effect for 17-19 August, 2022 due to likely CH HSS and CME influences. There is too much information to tweet about this activity - so please visit our webpage story at https://t.co/SitaSD3blc for all the information to keep properly informed. pic.twitter.com/E9K21u1TnJ

— NOAA Space Weather (@NWSSWPC) August 16, 2022

Northern lights activity typically occurs closer to the North Pole and is most visible in Iceland, Alaska, Finland and Canada.

Fullerton said clear winter night skies have less water vapor in the atmosphere and provide more optimal viewing conditions.

She said solar geomagnetic storms began last weekend and are expected to peak Friday night.

“It should make for a decent chance to view the northern lights, but you have to look north and low on the horizon,” Fullerton said.

Pittsburgh’s overnight forecast includes a little more cloud cover south or east of Pittsburgh, but no rain is expected, according to the Pittsburgh National Weather Service. The best chances of clear skies will be in the northern and western sections of Allegheny County.

Fullerton noted the biggest obstacle in catching a glimpse of the northern lights is light pollution, which includes illumination from urban areas.

“It’s pretty hard to view them from Pittsburgh. The farther south you get in the lower 48 states, the more difficult it is to view them,” Fullerton said.

Meteorologists recommend traveling to a rural, dark outdoor area in a higher elevation to increase your chances of viewing the lights.

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