Patch North Hills, PA --A solar flare could create a Northern Lights display Saturday and Sunday evening over parts the mid-Atlantic, including the Pittsburgh area, according to a report by Accuweather.
Accuweather's astronomy report includes a graphic of the United States showing that the occurrence of the Northern Lights, also called an aurora, could best be visible over parts of the mid-Atlantic, including parts of southwestern Pennsylvania.
The Pittsburgh area is usually too far south to view the Northern Lights, but it is occasionally visible during instances of coronal mass ejections, like the one Accuweather reports occurred Thursday.
Night-time light pollution can also lower visibility the experts at Accuweather recommend finding an area with an unobstructed view of the northern sky, far away from bright lights to view the aurora. Of course, the skies must be clear and right now the national weather service in Pittsburgh is predicting mostly cloudy skies Saturday, but clearing by early Sunday.
According to Accuweather:
Viewing conditions will be best in the mid-Atlantic, specifically for parts of Pennsylvania and the Delmarva. Most of the country will have poor to fair views as a result of cloud cover, with areas further south not experiencing the aurora at all. A pocket of fair conditions sits over southeastern Oregon and the southwest corner of Idaho. A swath of partly cloudy conditions will also spread over a section of the Ohio Valley for parts of Michigan, Indiana and Illinois. Ohio will experience fair to good viewing conditions. For the rest of the country conditions will be poor.
For more about aurora astronomy, view Accuweather's report here.
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