http://spaceweather.com

AURORA SURPRISE: On Aug. 18th, Northern Lights appeared as far south as
California and Arizona in the United States. The display was a surprise. It
was triggered by the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), which unexpectedly
tilted south after a knotty magnetic structure in the solar wind drifted
past our planet. South-pointing IMFs promote strong geomagnetic activity

In case abyone wondered why reception has been bad lately s.