Take a look at the Northern Lights on Pawleys Island. Why they’re in the Myrtle Beach area
A solar storm has created a new opportunity for residents of the Myrtle Beach area.
Typically confined to Scandinavia, parts of Canada, and northern U.S. states like Alaska and Minnesota, the aurora borealis— also known as the Northern Lights— could be seen along the Grand Strand on the morning of May 11, 2024.
Social media users took to Facebook and X, formerly known as Twitter, to post photos of the purple lights that illuminated the Grand Strand night, as the Northern Lights were visible from Myrtle Beach to Pawleys Island.
The aurora borealis appeared in the Myrtle Beach skies because of a severe weather event regarding the sun.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced a G5 geomagnetic storm, the first since 2005. NOAA grades geomagnetic storms on a scale of G1 to G5. The storm was caused by solar flare activity on the sun, which ejected energy that can impact radio communications and the power grid, according to NOAA.
Indeed, the National Weather Service projected that the Northern Lights might be visible again Saturday night, with the highest probability in the northern United States and Canada. The weather service’s projection added that the lights would be visible depending on the weather. The Aurora Forecast on NOAA’s model shows where the Northern Lights were visible throughout the United States and Canada on May 10 and 11. The model shows what areas of North America had the highest probability of aurora.
This story was originally published May 11, 2024, 11:39 AM.
