West Mi Might Catch A Glow From The Northern Lights This Weekend

One of the thrills living in Michigan is to catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights. This weekend if the weather cooperates we might get a peak.

I remember the first time I saw the Northern Lights I was at a hunting camp in Gladwin, Michigan, with a couple buddies. We were deep frying some walleye cheeks over the fire in a kettle. I turn around and I see this amazing glow in the sky and at first it freaked me out. I was young and had never seen the Northern Lights before and really didn't know what it was. My buddies reassured me that aliens weren't taking over and got a pretty big laugh out of it.

The second time I saw the Northern Lights I was up in Iron River, Michigan, in the Upper Peninsula visiting my best friend. I left late a night to return home and was basically driving across the UP in the middle of the night. I was lucky enough to see the Northern Lights almost my whole trip across the UP and it was so amazing to see them for such a long period of time consecutively.

There is a chance Halloween could be a little extra spooky if the clouds steer clear of West Michigan this weekend.

According to WOOD, there has been an explosion of plasma from the surface of the sun that is called a coronal mass ejection or CME. This causes the solar plasma to move through space toward Earth which could add to some colorful nights this weekend unless the clouds keep the sky covered.

The geomagnetic storm watch scale ranges from G1 to G5, with G5 being a watch for an extreme geomagnetic storm and G1 a watch for a minor geomagnetic storm. A G3 geomagnetic storm watch is in effect for Oct. 30, so a strong geomagnetic storm is possible.

Saturday night and Sunday morning may be your best chance at seeing the glow from the Northern Lights. So if you are at an adult Halloween party late Saturday night or early Sunday morning and you see something in the sky that looks different, yeah maybe you did have too much to drink but the booze will have nothing to do with the color of the sky.

The best way to get a peak at the Northern Lights this weekend is drive away from the city or town you live in where there is no skyline lighting up the sky from your town and you may get a real treat.