What to know about northern lights in California

NOT GUILTY OF ALL COUNTS OF FALSIFICATION OF RECORDS. WHILE PARTS OF THE US COULD SEE THE NORTHERN LIGHTS TONIGHT, A STRONG SOLAR STORM COULD ACTUALLY CAUSE SOME COLORFUL AURORAS IN PLACES NOT SEEN VERY OFTEN. AND OUR METEOROLOGIST, HEATHER WALDMAN, IS HERE NOW TO EXPLAIN WHY THIS IS HAPPENING. YES, NOAA'S SPACE WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER SAYS OUR SUN IS VERY ACTIVE RIGHT NOW. AT LEAST FIVE CORONAL MASS EJECTIONS HAVE BEEN DIRECTED TOWARDS EARTH. JUST THIS WEEK. THESE EVENTS SEND PLASMA AND OTHER MAGNETIC PARTICLES INTO SPACE. WHEN THOSE PARTICLES COLLIDE THE EARTH'S IONOSPHERE, THEY PRODUCE A DISTRIBUTION OF SOME BRIGHT COLORS UNDER GEOMAGNETIC STORMS.

THE FARDER FROM THE NORTH MAGNETIC POLE CHARGED PARTICLES CAN GET. And so, the closer you get to that pole, the more common the auroras are, and the further away you get, the rarer they are and the stronger the storms are. YOU'LL NEED DOCTOR KYLE WATERS, SACRAMENTO STATE PLANETARIUM DIRECTOR, NOAA RECENTLY CONFIRMED THAT TONIGHT'S SOLAR STORM IS NOW THE STRONGEST SINCE 2003. OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD ARE ALREADY WATCHING A NICE LIGHT SHOW. THIS VIDEO YOU SEE IS FROM THE SOUTH ISLAND OF NEW ZEALAND SO WE WILL BE WATCHING TO SEE IF WE RECEIVE ANY VIDEO FROM THE US DURING THE NEXT HOURS.

ALTHOUGH IT IS UNLIKELY TO BE SO VIBRANT. AND HERE IN CALIFORNIA, WE'RE POSSIBLY TOO FAR FROM THE EARTH'S MAGNETIC POLE TO HAVE TOO MUCH OF A SHOW THIS TIME. I THINK YOU'LL PROBABLY HAVE NICE VIEWS OF THE AURORA IN CANADA. UM, AND MAYBE, MAYBE IF YOU'RE IN, LIKE, YOU KNOW, NORTH DAKOTA, MONTANA, UM, AND YOU HAVE A GOOD VIEW OF THE NORTHERN SKY LOOKING TOWARD CANADA. Um, but I don't think we're going to get anything here in Northern California. UNFORTUNATELY, ALTHOUGH THE SOLAR STORM IS STRONG AND HAS THE POTENTIAL TO DISRUPT SATELLITE AND GPS SYSTEMS, SPACE WEATHER EXPERTS WARNED ABOUT THIS IN ADVANCE, GIVING OPERATORS PLENTY OF TIME TO PREPARE AND PROTECT IMPORTANT INFRASTRUCTURE.

AND THERE IS NO RISK FOR US HERE ON THE SURFACE, THANKS TO THE EARTH'