In a horizontally homogeneous high-latitude ionosphere a steady state Hall current closes within the E region and does not contribute to the interaction between the ionosphere and magnetosphere. When the steady state assumption is given up, Hall currents driven by a non-zero ∂B/∂t become divergent and must transiently close via the magnetosphere. It is shown, that this process is of non-local nature and can redistribute the field-aligned current in space and time. At scales of tens of kilometers the effect becomes significant for frequencies at about 1 Hz and above, at larger scales even for lower frequencies. The rearrangement of the field-aligned current is such that elongated structures tend to warp, and thus it resembles some of the typical dynamic evolution of auroral forms. Even a transient local amplification of the current density is possible.¿ 1997 American Geophysical Union