I keep missing out on seeing the northern lights.

September 9, 2015 10:16 AM

The northern lights were visible over Spokane, WA last night. I missed them. AGAIN. I have slept through seeing them every time they've been visible since I moved here in 2012. This makes me so sad. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can know when they are in the sky?

Things I already do:
I watch the local news at 6pm, but I don't stay up until 11pm to watch the night time local news which is when they're most likely to say it's a good night to see them.

I follow my local National Weather Service branch on Facebook, but they didn't mention them at all until they were visible. So I was asleep when they posted about them.

I do check the various aurora forecast websites, but only when I already know in advance that seeing them is a possibility.

Is there an app that I can use that will make an alert noise on my phone when certain words pop up on Facebook or Twitter? Like, let's say the words Spokane and the word aurora and/or northern lights?

Any other suggestions or ideas?

posted by ilovewinter to Science & Nature (9 answers total)

Looks like these guys will send text alerts.
posted by craven_morhead at 10:19 AM on September 9, 2015

I follow Aurora Alerts on Twitter. We haven't had much of an Aurora event here in MA for years but when that feed announces a KP of 7 or so I usually keep my eyes open.
posted by bondcliff at 10:26 AM on September 9, 2015

What kind of phone do you have? Android or iPhone?
posted by hooray at 10:29 AM on September 9, 2015

NASA's "Space Weather" page shows the 3-day aurora forecast.
posted by erst at 10:35 AM on September 9, 2015 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: I have an iPhone, but I don't have text messaging enabled on my phone.
posted by ilovewinter at 10:57 AM on September 9, 2015

Best answer: Is there an app that I can use that will make an alert noise on my phone when certain words pop up on Facebook or Twitter? Like, let's say the words Spokane and the word aurora and/or northern lights?
IFTTT.com will do things like this. They have a website and several apps. You will need to find your own source, like a local weather rss feed or something.
posted by soelo at 11:08 AM on September 9, 2015

Best answer: Aurora Watch out of Edmonton will send email alerts.
posted by Mitheral at 11:30 AM on September 9, 2015

I get email alerts from aurorawatch.ca, and I have an app, Aurora Alerts, developed by beebeetle. In Maine, it's often overcast, so quite often, the aurora is clouded over. Or I sleep through the alert. Basically, no guarantees. Do try to find a place you can go that has a decent northern view of the horizon.
posted by theora55 at 7:10 PM on September 9, 2015

SpaceWeather.com forecasts the likelihood of auroras happening in the next few days. They also have an aurora alert service (phone or text) for a monthly fee.
posted by JonathanB at 9:00 PM on September 9, 2015