Omega bands are mesoscale auroral structures that appear as quasi-periodic eastward drifting protrusions of the poleward edge of the diffuse aurora. Cribb et al. (2024), https://doi.org/10.1029/2024gl109756 demonstrated that the appearance of omega bands is associated with solar wind driving consistent with stream interaction regions. However, the formation of omega bands through physical processes in the magnetosphere and ionosphere is not well understood. We perform superposed epoch analyses of the solar wind, magnetospheric, and geomagnetic parameters during 205 omega band events from 1997 to 2007. We find that the large majority of omega bands are associated with CME- or SIR-like solar wind driving. In the ionosphere, omega bands are correlated with sustained periods of activity as defined by the auroral electrojets. In the inner magnetosphere, the appearance of omega bands is associated with an activation of a global current system enhanced relative to typical substorm activity. Our findings suggest omega band formation is associated with an enhanced partial ring current or substorm current wedge.