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Solar Storm Recap

Storm Recap – G1 Storming Gives Canadians a Show On May 10-11 2019

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Northern Lights Now – Geomagnetic conditions reached G1 storm level over the weekend. Aurora hunters across Canada were treated to a show. Even with low solar wind speeds that just touched 400 km/s, a long duration of south oriented Bz combined with high plasma density was enough to activate the magnetosphere. The recorded 3-hour observations from the storm show one period of Kp=5 in the first period of May 11 followed by sever periods of KP=4

G1 storm levels reached between 12:00am and 3:00am on Saturday May 11.
G1 storm levels reached between 12:00am and 3:00am on Saturday May 11.

There was not a storm watch posted in advance of this activity, but the SWPC daily forecast discussion mentioned the possibility. The forecaster’s note from May 9 read “The anticipated arrival of the 6 May CME is expected to result in unsettled to active conditions, with a chance for an isolated period of G1 (Minor) geomagnetic storm levels, later on 11 May.” NLN was posting on the Twitter feed that there was a chance for activity in advance of the storm, but the activity exceeded our expectations.

As the storm arrived, it became clear that Earth was going to be in the core of the arriving CME and that it was oriented favorably for Northern Lights. Proton density was high for hours in advance of the CME arrival shock. Once it arrived, Bz dipped south and stayed oriented south for 5-6 hours. Wind speed did not increase above 400km/s in the first part of the core of the storm, as so geomagnetic activity remained muted. But the long duration south oriented Bz primed the magnetosphere for the second phase of the storm.

Long duration of southward Bz Orientation
Long duration of southward Bz Orientation

As the second phase arrived, Bz dropped deeply south and stayed consistent. This drove the KP to storm levels and it coincided with night across much of Western Canada.

Happy Hunting!

News, Photos, Storm Live Blog

August 2nd & 3rd Solar Storm Live Blog

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Northern Lights Now – SWPC has posted a G2 storm watch for August 2nd and a G1 storm watch for August 3rd. NLN will keep a live blog of the storm as it unfolds here.

Update 8/4 2:30 UTC (10:30pm EST)

A quick recap: The big winners for aurora photography in this storm were the Northern states west of the Great Lakes and Canada, New Zealand and Tasmania. Denmark was also in the sweet spot at the very beginning of the storm when the initial CME arrived. There were a couple pictures of faint pillars in ME, NH and VT as well.

Solar wind never quite reached the high levels expected in the prediction. The helps explain why the storming started a little later than predicted also – if the wind is moving slower, it takes longer to travel from the Sun to Earth. In the end there were four periods of G1 storming recorded.

Thanks for following along for this storm!

This solar storm is done, in total 4 periods of G1, and 4 periods of KP=4. 24 hours total.
This solar storm is done, in total 4 periods of G1, and 4 periods of KP=4. 24 hours total.

Update 8/3 16:30 UTC (12:30pm EST)

The storm seem be dying down. Solar wind speeds have picked up, but they did not reach the predicted 600+ km/s. Here’s a create timelapse video from overnight from Robert Snache (@spirithands)

Update 8/3 11:00 UTC (7:00am EST)

So many wonderful pictures overnight. There were 3 periods of G1 recorded, and it appears there is a 4th happening now. There is an outside chance that the current period will reach G2. Here are a couple tweet with aurora pictures the we’ve seen overnight:

Back of cam:

Angel Brise finds some gems on webcams:

In Regina:

Neil Zeller:

Update 8/3 04:45 UTC (12:45am EST)

Starting about an hour ago, Bz dipped back south. Bt is still very strong, so this may be enough to produce some more pillars in the mid-latitudes. Aurora hunters will still probably need long exposures to get a good view. KP=5.33 (G1) in 20 minutes. Here’s a look at the boulder KP 3-hour averages so far – notice that storming didn’t technically reach G2 levels during the last substorm:

Two periods of storming so far in this solar storm
Two periods of storming so far in this solar storm

Update 8/2 23:00 UTC (7:00pm EST)

G2 storming is now predicted by the Wing-KP model. KP=6 shortly! This is almost exactly when the initial forecasts indicated we might see G2 storming. The strong solar wind hasn’t really picked up yet – wind speeds have only just touched 450 km/s.

Wing-KP shows KP=6 soon on August 2
Wing-KP shows KP=6 soon on August 2

Bz shifted to the north, so NLN is expecting this storm to be short lived. Good luck. Hopefully there will be more later tonight

Update 8/2 22:30 UTC (6:30pm EST)

First aurora picture of the night! This tweet shows a photo from Denmark by Twitter follower @ADphotography24

Update 8/2 21:45 UTC (5:45pm EST)

Around 8:00am UTC Bz made a decisive shift to the south. This should be good for aurora hunters and we expect to see some pictures coming in soon. We also expect the wing-KP models to reflect this aurora within the next 2-3 hrs.

Update 8/2 06:30 UPC (2:30am EST)

The first hints of the expected solar storm from the filament eruption appear to be arriving. Solar wind, density and Bt/Bz all reflected the shocks impact. The shock was weaker than expected, but also a little earlier than expected. We’re not really expecting any aurora yet, still plenty of hours ahead for a show.

Initial CME arrives around 04:00 UTC on August 2
Initial CME arrives around 04:00 UTC on August 2