Surprise Northern Lights in Midwest & Plains
A stunning Northern Lights display dances over Lac La Belle just outside Oconomowoc, Wisconsin on Friday, October 20, 2023. By Charlie Bourdo/Limitless Media
There were several reports across the Midwest and Northern Plains late Friday night into the early morning hours on Saturday, October 20th and 21st, 2023, after a weak Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) hit Earth.
This weak CME resulted in a surprisingly good Northern Lights display across several states across the Midwest, including Minnesota, Michigan, and even reports as far south as southern Wisconsin. A few reports also came from North Dakota and as far south as Omaha, Nebraska.
Unlike past Earthbound CMEs that hit early this year and were heavily reported about, this one had slower solar wind speeds and wasn't projected to be as strong. The overall weak nature of this CME caused many Aurora hunters who watch the charts to signal the arrival of the CME hitting Earth to miss it since the spike we are so used to seeing was not present in this setup.
Instead, the only other hints that the Northern Lights might be present this time around and the arrival of the CME was a gap in the data from the satellites as the CME hit them, an ever so subtle increase in the solar winds, and a gradual decrease in the Bz values (Negative Bz), which means the solar energy is aligning with Earth's magnetic field favoring better odds the lights can be seen further south in the United States. Something Charlie Bourdo caught hours before the event unfolded Friday night!
Do you want to learn more about the Northern Lights and how to forecast them better? Charlie Bourdo recently posted a "How to" video explaining just that! You can find his "How to" video below!
