Want to see northern lights in WA tonight? How to find areas with less light
If you're in Washington state and missed seeing the northern lights over the weekend that resulted from a 'severe' G4-level geomagnetic storm, you'll get another chance on Monday night. A second alert for a G3-level storm was issued by the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center for the night of June 2.
People who are in Olympia and farther north up to Bellingham should have partly clear skies and a chance to see the aurora borealis after sunset around 9 p.m. Tacoma is expected to have mostly clear skies. In eastern Washington, the Tri-Cities area should have the best chance to see the lights, with nothing but clear skies in the evening forecast.
Geomagnetic storms are classified on a scale of one through five, with G3 and higher indicating a strong storm. A G4 storm, like the one that was observed over the weekend, can cause a 'major disturbance in Earth's magnetic field,' according to NOAA. Such a storm can produce auroras visible from much of the northern United States if conditions allow.
Much of Washington will have a chance to see the northern lights on Monday night, according to NOAA's experimental aurora prediction dashboard, although the likelihood is in the low to moderate range. The dashboard is updated throughout the day.
The chances of seeing the aurora are better the farther north you are, and the less light pollution there is around you.
To find spots near you with low light pollution, you can search using interactive maps online.
Here are some useful light pollution map sites:
Dark Site Finder
Light Pollution Map
ClearDarkSky
Light Pollution Map app
Light Pollution Atlas
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Morgerman, who has penetrated the cores of 80 hurricanes and typhoons around the globe (a world record), went on to say, 'I feel like every longtime Coastal Mississippian divides their life into two eras: Before Katrina and After Katrina." However, the Mississippi resident has a better understanding of his part of the U.S. Gulf Coast is prone to really big storm surges. He said, "I didn't understand why until I started living here. You go the beach and you want to take a swim, and it's like you have to walk a mile out just to get in up to your waist. The water is crazy shallow—it's nuts. And shallow water offshore means big surges.' To date, the two biggest storm surges in U.S. history happened in Mississippi - Katrina (2005) and Camille (1969). Downtown Bay Saint Louis has very little elevation, so many buildings were destroyed in Katrina though a small bluff protected some of the buildings located in the downtown area. According to Morgerman, 'Residential areas within a couple of blocks of the water were just obliterated.' Morgerman took a different approach with his home. His 'Hurricane House' uses things like Jamies Hardie fiber cement siding that repels water and is impact-resistant. He also incorporated premium construction materials likeresistant to Premium construction material like 2 x 6 studs on the perimeter of the house; Solid, raised chain wall foundations; continuous load path construction to reinforce connection points; and a system of cables in the walls to resist uplift from the wind. So why did Morgerman choose to build his Gold Fortified home there. "Except for that one cinderblock house next door, every house you can see was built after Katrina. This whole neighborhood was swept away in the storm.' According to the storm chaser, Hurricane House was actually built on the grave of another house. For the past couple of years, Morgerman has hosted an event at Hurricane House. 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