Northern Lights wash over Washington

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, January 20, 2026

The Northern Lights were seen Monday night and early Tuesday in areas of Grays Harbor and Pacific counties, including Ocean Shores and the Willapa Hills.

A coronal mass ejection, an eruption of ionized plasma particles, which left the sun as part of a solar flare Jan. 18, arrived at Earth to create a severe geomagnetic storm.

That coronal mass ejection had arrived at severe levels for the onset of the storm commencement.