Canada Global (Web News) Northern lights were visible pretty far south tonight due to a “severe” geomagnetic storm, and many people in Southern Ontario were able to view vivid colours in the sky.
A coronal hole, which is a cooler, less dense region of the sun that might enable solar winds to escape more easily towards earth, has created, according to Global News meteorologist Ross Hull.
The geomagnetic events have varying intensities as the solar winds interact with our geomagnetic field, which shields the earth from such events, according to Hull.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported a G4 (severe) geomagnetic storm at 12:04 a.m. EDT on Friday. This storm can cause displays of the northern lights to appear much farther south than is typical for North America and the Northern Hemisphere – to a latitude of about 45 degrees, which can be as far south as northern California and southern Ontario.
All around Ontario, especially in Aurora, Orangeville, and Kawartha Lakes, the lights could be seen.
Social media posts also highlighted the lights that could be seen, among other areas, close to Guelph, Barrie, Collingwood, Bowmanville, Niagara, and Ottawa.
Although Hull suggested that there would be more “aurora activity” over the weekend, the NOAA doesn’t anticipate particularly high geomagnetic storm levels.
More likely to be in the G1 to G2 range, which means they won’t be visible as far south. Of course, seeing them also depends on the weather, according to Hull.
