Los Banos, CA (November 13, 2025) — A powerful geomagnetic storm earlier this week created a rare opportunity for residents of the Central Valley to glimpse the aurora borealis. On Tuesday night, November 11, the northern lights were visible across multiple parts of California, including the Bay Area, Sacramento region, and even portions of Southern California. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) had issued a G4 (severe) storm watch for November 12 and a G3 (strong) storm watch for November 13, conditions strong enough to push auroral visibility far south of its typical range.
According to NOAA’s guidance leading into the event, auroral activity in the United States is most likely from early evening through the overnight hours, with the greatest potential around midnight. During this storm, auroras fluctuated throughout the night in various locations across the state. Observers in Northern California captured photos of faint green, pink, and purple hues low on the northern horizon shortly after dusk and continuing through late evening.
In the Los Banos region, visibility depended on both location and cloud cover. Rural areas surrounding San Luis Reservoir, Pacheco Pass, Los Banos Creek Reservoir, and northern Merced County offered darker, more suitable viewing conditions away from city lights. However, considerable cloud cover moved through Central California during the peak nights, limiting viewing opportunities in many parts of the valley. The National Weather Service had forecast mostly cloudy skies for Los Banos on November 12, and intermittent clouds affected visibility throughout the viewing window.
The aurora activity was triggered by a series of strong solar eruptions, including an X5.1-class solar flare on November 11 and a coronal mass ejection aimed toward Earth. When the plasma cloud reached the planet, it significantly disturbed Earth’s magnetosphere. SWPC confirmed the storm reached G4 levels, among the most intense seen in recent years. The U.K. Met Office briefly issued a G5 (extreme) watch during the same period, underscoring the strength of the event.
Auroras this far south are uncommon and typically require the strongest geomagnetic storms. California has experienced only a small number of notable displays in recent decades. However, strong activity during the current solar cycle has produced several visible auroras across the state since 2024, including events in May and October of that year. The November 2025 storm continued this trend, generating reports of auroral sightings from the Sierra foothills to the Central Coast and Los Angeles County.
As the storm weakened after November 13, auroral visibility across California diminished. NOAA reported a decline from G4 to G3 levels, and the auroral oval retreated northward, reducing the likelihood of additional sightings in Central California. For many residents, the November 2025 storm provided a rare chance to witness the northern lights, an event that historically occurs only during the most extreme solar disturbances.
