Floridians in the Keys, Tallahassee and other parts of the state were treated to the rare sight of the Northern Lights in the sky Thursday night.
The National Weather Service in Key West posted photos on X of the aurora, courtesy of Megan Stapleton.
Incredible captures of the Northern Lights, courtesy of @Catsbookscats!
— NWS Key West (@NWSKeyWest) October 11, 2024
We know locals, and even some visitors, will know where this is!#AuroraBorealis #NorthernLights #flwx #FLKeys #FloridaKeys pic.twitter.com/Bqj6AO9jk2
Same for the National Weather Service in Tallahassee, where many were able to get a good view of the lights.
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10/10 8:30PM ET
— NWS Tallahassee (@NWSTallahassee) October 11, 2024
Head outside and check out the Aurora!
Whether you're inland.... https://t.co/rKWWxj75q9
Forecasters at NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center issued a severe geomagnetic storm watch for Thursday into Friday. Experts are monitoring the sun following a strong X-class solar flare and the resulting coronal mass ejection.
NBC6 meteorologist Adam Berg explains that when charged particles from solar storms interact with earth’s magnetic field near the poles, we see colors like blue purple, green and pink.
Local
Only strong magnetic storms are visible this far south, in Florida. The pink glow tells us that these charged solar particles were interacting with oxygen above 150 miles in altitude.
This only happens when we have intense magnetic storms, because there isn’t much oxygen at those heights.
