Northern Lights Delights Millions Of People, Including Southerners, Vermonters

 Wow! What a show!

I was able to catch this image over St. Albans, Vermont
with an old iPhone5.

Much of Planet Earth was treated to a spectacular show of aurora last night, as the most intense geomagnetic storm from the sun in decades caused a massive display in the skies. If you went outside in Vermont last evening as I did, you surely saw a treat. 

The aurora is normally a creature of the far north. But Friday night, denizens of such Arctic outposts as Tybee Island, Georgia, San Antonio, Texas, Orlando, Florida and Nassau, The Bahamas found themselves enjoying the nighttime display. 

Take a look at your social media. It's FULL of photos this morning of the aurora.  If you really want some great Vermont images, check out photographers Adam Silverman, Stephen Mease and Brian Drourr

There are surely other Vermont photographers that I'm inadvertently skipping that also have amazing images.

Here in Vermont, it was the second extreme and breathtaking event in the skies within about a month, and on both occasions the weather cooperated. That's something rare in this cloudy state.

Back on April 8, northern Vermont was in the path of a total solar eclipse. High clouds that moved in just prior to the eclipse did nothing to block the spectacle, but did add some color and texture to what was already a breathtaking event.   

Old iPhone5 capture of the show last night over 
St. Albans, Vermont. 

Last night, skies partially cleared in Vermont, especially in the north, just before sunset. Like during the eclipse, the remaining clouds added texture to the curtains of green and red dancing in the sky. 

The aurora was so far south that it seemed to be originating right overhead. For a time here in St Albans, there was a dark circle directly overhead with streamers and sheets of green and red light emanating from it in every direction. 

Incredibly, the aurora covered the whole sky from northern to southern horizon.  That's only the second time in my long life I've seen anything like that. (The first time was during an outdoor birthday party my sister threw for me on September 7, 2002. Nice gift!)

Last night, the color changed constantly and so did the quality of the show. Sometimes it was just a general green or red glow in the sky. Other times, brilliant streaks lit up the night. 

At one point a shooting star zoomed through the spectacle, adding just that much more to the show. At another point, it got spooky. Most of the sky glowed a blood red, which reflected on the landscape surrounding me, making it seem like everything was red.

At one point last night, the sky over St. Albans turned
a spooky blood red. 

Since the aurora wasn't limited to a narrow path like the eclipse was, we had no stampede to Vermont to witness the show. Still, popular viewing spots got busy. 

 The Route 2 causeway between Milton and South Hero over Lake Champlain was reportedly jammed with hundreds of people, as that location offers a spectacular, clear view to the north. And in the case of what happened last  night, to the south, too.

The strength of the geomagnetic storm that caused all this could have created disruptions, such as power failures, internet outages and long lasting GPS short circuits. So far, though, I've seen no reports of any major issues. 

The only casualty I could find was our Jackson the Weather Dog here in St. Albans. He was a bit traumatized and confused because Jeff and I turned off all the exterior lights on our house and stood in the driveway, staring at the sky. 

The geomagnetic storm is continuing, so much of the planet might see another aurora tonight. It probably won't be as widespread as last night. 

Here in Vermont, we'd have a shot of seeing something somewhat less spectacular than last night, but still worth staying up for. However, the forecast is cloudier than it was last night. 

This has been quite a year for Green Mountain State skywatchers. Next up is not space weather, but regular weather. 

We're heading into thunderstorm season, which to me creates the most beautiful and interesting clouds possible. No thunderstorm outbreaks are in the immediate forecast, though it will be showery off and on today through at least Wednesday. 

Great Chance Of Northern Lights Tonight, But Clouds In Vermont Might Hinder View

A fairly conservative aurora forecast from NOAA.
People north go the red line from southern Oregon to
Long Island could see them. Some forecasts have people
in places like Texas and Alabama seeing the aurora.

 One of the biggest solar storms in decades seems like it's about to unleash one of the best northern lights displays in recent years. 

A geomagnetic storm from the sun that erupted this week appears to be the strongest since 2005. That puts most of the northern hemisphere in line for a potentially spectacular aurora display overnight.

If the skies are clear at the right time overnight, people as far south as Alabama could see a peek of the aurora. States closer to the Canadian border might find skies largely lit up by flickering greens, reds and other colors. 

For us in Vermont, we are geographically located nicely to see this display. Unfortunately, we're not meteorologically in a perfect place.   

This is Vermont, after all. So of course it might be partly to mostly cloudy overnight into the wee hours of the morning. So a grand view of the aurora is iffy but definitely possible.  

We lucked out with mostly clear skies during this year's big event - the total eclipse of the sun back on April 8 -- but our luck won't hold for this event, it seems. 

It does seem every time there's northern lights, it's cloudy in Vermont. At least tonight most of us won't have a complete overcast. 

There is some hope. Skies might not be entirely cloudy.  Some dry air is bleeding south from Quebec, and that could  give us some hope. I notice early this evening from my perch in St. Albans, Vermont the sky is blue looking north toward Canada. 

The National Weather Service in South Burlington predicted this evening that skies over northern Vermont after dark will become at least partly clear. Cloud cover might only cover 30 percent of the sky near the Canadian border. Central and southern Vermont look like they'll be somewhat cloudier. 

Most of the nation is expecting clear skies overnight, so many people will see this event. Everybody except the Northeast, Great Lakes and parts of the Southwest should be clear. So at least we'll see a lot of cool photos from other places. 

You might see the northern lights anytime after dark tonight. The best chances of seeing a display are probably between midnight and 4 a.m. Saturday.   

In places in the northern hemisphere where it's already night, some spectacular photos are coming in. Social media is ablaze with wild aurora photos from places like Russia, Germany, Austria, Poland the the UK. 

Most of the photos are taken with a long exposure, so anything you might see probably won't be as wild as you see on social media. But it still could be gorgeous

The geomagnetic storm isn't all fun and games and beauty. This is a strong one after all, so it's messing with the Earth's magnetic field. It could cause power outages, internet failures, GPS wonkiness and radio interference. It could also disrupt the orbit of some satellites. 

Widespread problems aren't expected, though.

The geomagnetic storm will probably continue much of the weekend, which opens up the possibility of another display Saturday night. Here in Vermont, Saturday night is looking cloudier than tonight.