A rare and powerful solar storm, the strongest of its kind in more than two decades, is impacting Earth, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Space Weather Prediction Center. Over the past couple of days, the storm triggered unusual sightings of aurora borealis across parts of Northern California.
Dial Hong, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Bay Area office, told SFGATE that the Space Weather Prediction Center said that aurora sightings were concentrated in rural and less populated areas of the North Bay and Northern California, where darker skies and less light pollution made the phenomenon easier to see.
“With areas like Mount Saint Helena, we saw cameras capture the aurora,” Hong said, adding that the agency also received reports of aurora sightings in the Lake Mendocino area north of Ukiah. While the lights were visible Sunday and peaked on Monday night, Hong said viewing conditions will likely weaken by Tuesday night…