BUFFALO, N.Y. — A strong solar storm brought the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, to viewers locally Friday night into Saturday night to include Western New York, and south into northern Pennsylvania.
The partly clear skies and the mostly new moon on Friday allowed for beautiful viewing of this phenomenon that can happen in our Earth's upper atmosphere, in the Ionosphere, when there is a Geomagnetic solar storm and solar flares are sent here.
The best spots were north and away from light pollution in cities. Generally, along Lake Ontario and other more remote locations such as Chestnut Ridge or along Lake Erie are good locations, depending on the partial cloud cover.
So, what about Saturday night? We will most likely have scattered rain showers and clouds, which would likely block any potential viewing of the Northern Lights locally. There may be some breaks in the clouds though, that could provide another peek at the colorful skies.
Friday night might have been among the best chances to see the light show locally in about 20 years.
The Northern Lights usually appear as a faint greenish glow and may seem to dance across the night sky as they get more active. There can also be other colors visible such as pink or red.
Stay tuned to Storm Team 2 for updates, as needed.