HALDIMAND—Thanks to a series of powerful solar storms, residents across Haldimand had the rare opportunity to see the northern lights from their own front porch on Friday and Saturday night this past weekend.
They were not alone, with the aurora borealis visible across parts of Canada, in addition to the northern United States, and parts of Europe.
Dave Erauw caught this shot of the lights just south of Caledonia on Hwy. 6. 
HAGERSVILLE—This photo of the aurora borealis event on May 10 was taken on Concession 13 Walpole just outside Springvale. —Haldimand Press photo by Jillian Taylor. 
HAGERSVILLE—This photo of the northern lights was taken facing northwest at Bradshaw Corners around Haldimand Road 55 and Concession 12 Walpole. It required a 30 second exposure. —Photo submitted by Albert Tyson.
Solar storms are much more prevalent during the maximum phase of the sun’s 11-year cycle, which we are currently in. They are the result of sunspots, which are an entanglement of magnetic fields on the surface of the sun erupting into a solar flare.
Those flares are known to cause coronal mass ejections (CME), which consist of a burst of charged particles carried through space by solar winds.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), this past weekend’s show originated from a series of CMEs that began on Wednesday, leading them to issue their first severe geomagnetic storm warning since 2005.
For those in Haldimand lucky enough to catch the show however, the lights, like last month’s solar eclipse, are an experience they’ll likely remember for a long time.
