Late Friday night, West Seattle residents scored an unexpected holiday-weekend bonus in the form of a faint aurora that briefly shimmered above Puget Sound. The glow was subtle, easier to spot in phone shots and long-exposure photos than with the naked eye, but it was still enough to nudge a few curious night owls outside to stare north. Those who saw it described a short, low band of green that lingered only for a few minutes in most spots.
According to the West Seattle Blog, a reader texted in a photo of the display, prompting the outlet to pull up the aurora forecast map at Soft Serve News. That map showed the Seattle area "in the zone" for auroral activity. The blog thanked the texter for the tip, and the shot quickly made the rounds in neighborhood feeds.
Why the lights appeared
Forecasters link the brief light show to solar activity at the end of June, specifically an X1.1-class flare on June 30 that launched a coronal mass ejection toward Earth. Space.com outlined that eruption, while NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center issued a heads-up that "Moderate geomagnetic storm conditions are expected early on 03 July (UTC day)." When the magnetic field of a CME lines up just right with Earth's field, charged particles stream in, light up the upper atmosphere, and can push auroras farther south than usual.
What West Seattle saw
From the ground, reports in West Seattle described a patchy display hugging the northern horizon, which meant many people only caught it through phone cameras or from darker spots such as Alki. The West Seattle Blog credited a reader "texter" with flagging the sighting and pointed to real-time forecast tools that placed Seattle inside the auroral band for the night. Cloud cover and city glare likely washed out any stronger colors for most neighborhoods.
If you want another shot at it, your best bet is to get away from streetlights and porch lights between late evening and the early morning hours, face north, and use a tripod or your phone's night mode for multi-second exposures. Live Science and other skywatching outlets noted that multiple CMEs were expected to brush Earth into the holiday weekend, so more brief and unpredictable displays are still on the table if conditions line up. Before you head out, check NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center for the latest Kp and Ovation maps.
Local skywatchers say they plan to keep scanning the northern horizon over the weekend and watching updates from Space.com. If more glancing blows from the sun arrive, West Seattle could get a second quick cameo of the northern lights under clear, dark skies.
