January 2026 Solar Storm

On Jan 19, 2026 one of the most powerful solar storms in decades hit during the daylight hours here in the US. While Europe enjoyed spectacular auroras that first date, by nightfall in the US the stats had turned bad and stayed that way well into the night. I missed some amazing displays from about 3am onward, but thankfully caught some beautiful displays at about 6am from the field next to my house, yielding the timelapse video below. On the evening of Jan 20, reports indicated powerful auroral substorms were still occurring, so I drove out to the Oregon Coast. Upon arriving, I could immediately see the aurora glowing toward the north. After waiting about an hour I was rewarded with a spectacular and powerful substorm, yielding some of the most incredible shots I've ever been privileged to capture at Cape Kiwanda.