Not a Bad Chance of Catching Northern Lights in Oregon, Washington, Coastline

Published 8/12/24 at 1:25 a.m.
By Andre' GW Hagestedt, Oregon Coast Beach Connection

(Portland, Oregon) – Another wave of geomagnetic storms hit the Earth tonight (Sunday) and early in the overnight hours, resulting in some Aurora Borealis sightings in the Pacific Northwest. One photographer even caught a glimpse of it from the Mount Hood area of Oregon and snapped an excellent capture of it. (Photo this weekend of Mount Hood - Quinn Nykiel).

The Space Weather Center of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and SpaceWeather.com have shown all of Washington and some of Oregon within the zone of catching more of the aurora overnight and possibly tonight (Monday). Late Sunday saw another Kp 7 event, and early in the morning it was visible with the naked eye from some northern parts of Oregon.

A lot of it depends on the weather, of course, and the Oregon coast does not look prime for that. However, the upper Washington coast will get some clear spots on Monday night.

See Washington Coast Weather - Oregon Coast Weather

Mostly, inland areas like Bremerton, Yakima, and even Portland or Salem will get a shot.

According to OMSI's astronomer Jim Todd, we've already seen a strong storm from sunspot activity, and there could be more.

Some of best photos of last May's Auroral display came from Bandon and Seaside. Out of Bandon Came Some of the Most Intense Aurora Shots: S. Oregon Coast Photo Adventures

“This is not yet as good as in May, that caused very low latitude auroras,” Todd told Oregon Coast Beach Connection. “We are already forecasting Kp 7 (strong storm) but if the input continued, it can be even stronger - the May event was Kp 9. If you are in the red zone, you are almost sure to have fantastic auroras. BUT EVEN IF YOU ARE AT LOWER LATITUDES, there are often secondary auroral bands, which could be blood red.”

Seaside Aquarium

See the forecast link before heading out.

Indeed, photographer Quinn Nykiel took the above shot at Government Camp on either Sunday morning or evening – that wasn't specified. They said they could see it with their eyes.

SpaceWeather.com said the current geomagnetic storms reached G2 level earlier after starting out at G1, and as Todd indicated it could still rise.

“If NOAA models are correct, two more CMEs could arrive before the day is over, extending the storm and possibly boosting it to category G3,” the website said.

Monday night may see some breaks in the clouds along the Oregon and Washington coast, but many areas won't see enough to get a peek at the geomagnetic dance. However, those with any sky breaks – including those in the city – should be looking for the meteor shower peaks right now. That is definitely happening. Meteor Showers Begin Peak, Jupiter / Mars Conjunction for Oregon, Washington, Coast, Portland, Seattle

Note: it's important to snap a photo if you don't see anything with the eye - these storms may not produce ribbons bright enough to be seen by the human eye.

Oregon Coast Hotels for this event - South Coast Hotels - Oregon Coast Vacation Rentals - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours

MORE PHOTOS BELOW

Seaside Aquarium

Bandon, courtesy Manuela Durson - Manuela Durson Fine Arts

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Andre' GW Hagestedt is editor, owner and primary photographer / videographer of Oregon Coast Beach Connection, an online publication that sees over 1 million pageviews per month. He is also author of several books about the coast.

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