Aurora Possible for Washington State, Slim for Oregon - But Full Moon a Problem

Published 08/01/2026 at 12:05 a.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Portland, Oregon) – There is a medium chance of catching the aurora borealis in Washington over the weekend – if you've got a camera, that is. However, it's a very short period of time to see it with a full moon popping up early, making the small chances for Oregon even slimmer.

The sun fired off a fairly large CME (coronal mass ejection) on Thursday and that is expected to pass over the Earth tomorrow (Saturday).

Right now, the Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) is saying there's a geomagnetic storm watch with a G2 (moderate) level expected for Saturday and the overnight hours.

“Aurora may be seen as low as New York to Wisconsin to Washington state,” the SWPC said.

Since the viewline ends about halfway through Washington state, there is a chance parts of Oregon could see it using a camera rig. It's not a super great chance, but G2 predictions like these during the last few months have proven good luck for Oregon.

Aurora seen in Salem back in July: Jeremy Marchand

However, the nearly full moon is going to have something to say about all that. The height of the storm happens about 10 p.m. Saturday to 1 a.m., according to SWPC predictions. But the moon rises right about then and gets higher well into the wee hours.

It is pretty bright when conditions are clear.

Pacific Northwest Weather | Oregon, Washington, Coastline (see NW from space) |---| Washington Coast Weather |---| Oregon Coast Weather |---| Inland Oregon Weather

Those on the Oregon coast, Washington coast or inland areas around Portland, Salem, Camas or Seattle may have a little better luck just before moonrise. That leaves a limited window, however.

You can see some auorora forecasts for Oregon and Washington here.

G1 levels are predicted just before and after about 1 a.m. That's not likely to produce much for any place south of Canada.

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