Chances of catching a glimpse of the aurora borealis might be slim this weekend, but some in the Puget Sound region could get lucky, according to the National Weather Service.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said this week a moderate geomagnetic storm is likely on its way, meaning parts of the Northwest might see the elusive northern lights sometime Sunday, said Dana Felton, meteorologist with the Seattle office of the National Weather Service.
Geomagnetic storms occur when a flare-up on the sun shoots out a coronal mass ejection, or a persistent high-speed solar wind stream, that travels past Earth, according to the Astronomy North Northern Lighthouse Project.
This causes the Earth's magnetic field to become unsettled, and if that lasts long enough, it can become a geomagnetic storm that could cause voltage irregularities and false alarms from security devices — as well as hours of vibrant auroras.
"Basically, the sun burps up and spews out this stream of hot energy particles," Felton said. "When it hits Earth, it can look like the aurora."
An ejection has already occurred, he said, and now the particles are on their way to the Seattle area.
Chances of seeing the northern lights are highest in the South Puget Sound area, particularly around north Olympia, Felton said.
"But that doesn't mean we're going to see them," he added. "We had a really good setup about three weeks ago, and nothing happened. ... You say 'northern lights' and people think of dancing and drapes up above, but I've only seen that here once."
Felton noted cameras might be able to capture some colors even if we can't see anything, because they pick up more light than our eyes do. Skies also have to be pretty clear in order to see the show, he said.
While forecasts haven't yet confirmed when the aurora might be visible in the region, Felton estimated sometime Sunday.
"Just go out there and watch," he said.
