Oregon Skies May See Green Northern Lights Sunday

Published 03/16/2013

(Oregon Coast) – Sunday night could see the skies above Oregon turn a holiday-appropriate color of green - or perhaps red. That is, if you can see the skies for very long. (Above: Aurora Borealis in the Oregon coast range)

A massive solar flare on the Sun that has already interrupted some radio Friday is heading towards the Earth in the form of a geomagnetic storm, and it's predicted to turn the skies in some parts of the U.S. into a major show of the Northern Lights. Given the weather predictions, chances seem a bit better inland than on the Oregon coast, however.

The coronal mass ejection (CME) was observed on March 15, and its effects are expected to hit the Earth's atmosphere on Sunday – St. Patty's Day.

Whether you can see the Aurora Borealis in Oregon, the coast, or the coast range will depend on clear skies as much as anything else. That, in turn, depends on who is predicting the weather. Some weathermen are forecasting mostly cloudy for Sunday both inland and on the Oregon coast, while others are saying partly cloudy.

AccuWeather.com has said chances would be better on some parts of the east coast.

The solar flare was pointed at Earth for nearly two hours. It is considered a sizable storm and could mean some spectacular displays.

Another CME last week caused NASA to shut down the Mars rover Curiosity for a time.

Cannon Beach

Moon halo over Depoe Bay

Manzanita: an irridium flare from a satellite in the upper left hand corner.

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