Staff working overnight at the National Weather Service in Riverton’s office were treated to an amazing spectacle Thursday as the Northern Lights lit up the sky.
Fortunately, the weather service shared that view on its social media pages for all to see.
“The Northern Lights are in full force,” it said on an initial post.
According to USA Today, the lights were unusually strong and were spotted by National Weather Service offices in Washington, Montana, Wyoming, Minnesota, Wisconsin, South Dakota, North Dakota and New York.
The article says, “the spectacle ‘may be seen tonight as far south as Alabama and Northern California,’ according to an overnight space weather message from the center.”
USA Today says the lights are caused “when particles flowing from the sun get caught up in Earth’s magnetic field. The particles interact with molecules of atmospheric gases to cause the famed glowing red and green colors of the aurora.”
Other Wyoming residents also shared their own views on the NWS’s Facebook posts:
