Unusually strong solar flare activity this week could cause the northern lights to be visible over much of the United States, including Massachusetts, according to the Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC).
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DOGS. YIKES. YEAH, YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THAT. OKAY, YOU MIGHT WANT TO LOOK UP TONIGHT THOUGH. YEAH, PARTS OF NEW ENGLAND MAYBE WE’LL SEE THE NORTHERN LIGHTS, BUT IT’S GOING TO BE CLOUDY IN MASSACHUSETTS. THE SPACE WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER EXPECTS UNUSUALLY STRONG SOLAR ACTIVITY TONIGHT INTO EARLY TOMORROW MORNING. SO THEY’RE CALLING IT A VERY RARE OCCURRENCE. PLACES AS FAR SOUTH AS ALABAMA. WOW. AND AS FAR WEST AS NORTHERN CALIFORNIA COULD ALSO SEE IT. NOW. WE’VE HEARD THIS BEFORE. I MEAN, I WANT TO SEE IT. WHAT IS THE TIMELINE HERE? SO THIS IS LIKE A LOT OF SCIENCE COMING AT YOU. RIGHT. SO THIS IS A LEVEL THIS G4 LEVEL THAT HAS NOT BEEN ISSUED A GEOMAGNETIC STORM WATCH, A LEVEL G4 HAS NOT BEEN ISSUED SINCE 2005. SO WE’RE THINKING THIS COULD BE SIGNIFICANT. SO LET ME TELL YOU WHAT’S HAPPENING. WE ARE 93 MILLION MILES AWAY FROM THE SUN, AND RIGHT NOW THERE ARE S SEVEN WHAT ARE CALLD CORONAL MASS EJECTIONS, LIKE ENERGY COMING AT US, SEVEN OF THEM FROM THE SUN. SO THEY ARE TRAVELING TOWARD US, HEADED TOWARD EARTH. AND THESE HAPPEN WHEN YOU GET THESE KIND OF SOLAR STORMS TO DEVELOP, WHEN YOU GET THE ENERGY COMING OFF THE SUN. AND WE HAVE THAT RIGHT NOW AND IT’S GOING TO TRY TO ENTER THE EARTH’S MAGNETIC FIELD AT THE POLES. AND WHEN THAT HAPPENS, AS IT CAN PRODUCE THE NORTHERN LIGHTS, AND WE THINK THAT THAT MAY BE VISIBLE TONIGHT INTO TOMORROW MORNING. YES, THROUGH PARTS OF NEW ENGLAND HERE. BUT WE’RE GOING TO SEE IF THE CLOUDS ARE GOING TO GET IN THE WAY. SO YOU WANT TO LOOK IN THE DARKRKEST PART OF THE NIGHT. YOU WANT TO GET AWAY FROM LIGHTS. IF WE ARE ABLE TO SEE THESE IT WOULD HAPPEN KIND OF IN THAT 10 OR 11 P.M. WINDOW TILL ABOUT THREE IN THE MORNING. SUNRISE NOW IS 5:30 A.M. OR SO. SO BY ABOUT 4:00, 430 THERE IS GOING TO BE SOME LIGHT ON THE HORIZON. SO WITH THESE MULTIPLE KIND OF, UH, ENERGY BUNDLES COMING AT US, WE COULD SEE EFFECTS LINGERING SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY MORNING AS WELL. SO FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF NIGHTS. BUT THAT LEVEL HERE OF SEVERE LEVEL IS GOING TO BE IN EFFECT TONIGHT. AND IT WILL DROP A LITTLE BIT TOMORROW