SALUDA COUNTY, S.C. — Thanks to rare weather conditions, the commonly known "northern lights" were seen in many parts of the country, catching the attention of many in South Carolina
Friday night was one Mitch West says he will never forget. He was one of the many in the midlands who witnessed the aurora borealis over the state.
"I checked on X, social media one more time, and saw that someone was seeing the northern lights in the Bahamas," he said. "So, I was like, if they're seeing it in the Bahamas, sure enough, you can see it in South Carolina. So, I got in my car, got here around 9:30-ish. You realize how rare it is, and that this is potentially a once in a lifetime type deal."
He made it to the Lake Murray Dam where he captured photos of the sky, all with his iPhone 15.
"It just escalated, getting brighter and brighter in the sky, to what shows in the pictures I posted," he said.
Dozens of WLTX's Weather Watchers also spotted the lights posting these to social media during the light show. West says seeing the lights puts a lot in perspective.
"It's just beautiful what you, God is good, and just painting a show up there, is absolutely amazing and I think just to wrap that up is the fact that you see something you only see in movies," he said.
With the possibility of the lights returning, he has this advice for people who want to capture the magic for themselves.
"You need to get to an area where not as much light pollution and things like that, you don't want to look for it in the city where there's a lot of light," he said. "Just be patient, pull out your phone, and play around with the camera settings and just enjoy the show."
If you happen to catch any wild weather throughout the Midlands, you can upload your photos to the WLTX Weather Watchers Facebook page.
