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Because of pesky clouds, the D.C. area initially missed out on a rare and magical opportunity to the see the northern lights Friday night. But during the pre-dawn hours Saturday, between about 4 and 6 a.m., the skies opened up just enough for an exceptionally rare view.

The display of auroras was visible as far south as Florida, Texas and Southern California after an extreme geomagnetic storm — the strongest in at least two decades — bombarded Earth.

Around the D.C. area, some eyewitnesses reported faint shades of red, purple and green visible to the naked eye in the northern sky, especially in areas north and west of the Beltway; others said only the more sensitive lens of the camera could pick up the auroras’ hues. Some skywatchers observed brilliant light pillars from the auroras as close by as Howard County and Reston.

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But in western portions of Virginia and Maryland, mostly clear skies for the entire night — and less light pollution — made for crisper and more enduring views.

Dave Dildine, who witnessed the northern lights at Rocky Gap State Park in Western Maryland, said in an email that the spectacle was “incredible.”

Peter Forister, who photographed the aurora from the Blue Ridge Parkway in west-central Virginia (and whose aurora photos we’ve featured in the past), wrote on X that it was “a night I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”

One of the most magnificent aurora photos we received from readers was taken by Ken Trombatore, a passenger aboard a flight from Minneapolis to Baltimore. The photo shows light pillars flanking the jet’s wing and a mix of green and purple hues cast against the sky.

The possibility of northern lights continued through the weekend, but the geomagnetic storm activity weakened so auroras were only briefly visible in the mountains on Saturday and Sunday nights.

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Travis Koshko, a meteorologist based in Charlottesville, managed to see the northern lights on three straights nights in different locations throughout central and western Virginia:

Photos of the northern lights Friday night and Saturday morning

Below, find images of the northern lights that readers shared with us — or that we discovered on social media from Friday night and Saturday morning, when the solar storm peaked:

From the District

From Arlington, Va. (a few miles away)

From Silver Spring (5 to 10 miles away)

From Reston, Va. (15 to 20 miles away)

From Howard County, Md. (20 to 30 miles away)

From Poolesville, Md. (about 25 to 30 miles away)

From south of Annapolis (about 30 miles away)

From Signal Knob Overlook in Shenandoah National Park (about 65 miles away)

From 10 miles west of Front Royal, Va. (about 70 miles away)

From Woodstock, Va. (about 80 miles away)

From Beahms-Gap Overlook in Shenandoah National Park (about 80 to 85 miles away)

From Charlottesville (about 100 miles away)

Impulse aurora chasing road trip was so worth it. Didn’t think my first time seeing the northern lights would be from a field in a random glamping site near Charlottesville, but 10/10 no notes.

H/t @KashaPatel & @capitalweather for the stellar reporting that made this possible! pic.twitter.com/QyrLaHCRWr

From Crozet, Va. (about 105 miles away)

From Grottoes, Va. (about 105 miles away)

From the Blue Ridge Parkway in central Virginia (about 120 miles away)

Tonight over Virginia.

A night I’ll remember for the rest of my life.

📍Blue Ridge Parkway, VA 5/10/24 pic.twitter.com/K9dJIZnPID

From Deep Creek Lake, Md. (about 130 miles away)

From Highland County, Va. (about 140 miles away)

From Blacksburg, Va. (about 215 miles away)

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