A solar storm hit Earth. Will the U.S. see aurora tonight?

A solar storm hit Earth. Will the U.S. see aurora tonight?

A “severe” geomagnetic storm hit Thursday morning and may last until nighttime in the U.S., providing good aurora viewing.

A solar storm hit Earth on Thursday and brought beautiful displays of the northern lights to dark skies farther south than normal. The timing of the storm provided a great show for Europe, but those in North America could also see the dazzling lights if the storm persists into nighttime.

The storm was classified “severe” (ranked 4 out of 5 in severity) as of Thursday afternoon, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Forecasts show the storm could continue through Friday morning, but the timing could change as more data comes in. The agency said there is even a slight chance of “extreme” storming (ranked 5 out of 5) — a rare level only seen twice in about the past two decades.

“It is looking really good for strong aurora tonight” in the United States, said Alex Young, a solar physicist at NASA.

At the current “severe” storm level, aurora could be seen as far south as Alabama and Northern California. If the storm were to bump to extreme, aurora could be seen as far south as Florida with the naked eye.

However, people have been able to see the dancing light displays even farther south than these guidelines by using their camera or phone lenses, which are more sensitive to light than our eyes.

This graphic shows where aurora may be visible by eye down to the red line for Thursday night for a “severe” (G4) geomagnetic storm. (NOAA)

The geomagnetic storm was created by an explosion of solar particles and energy on the sun, called a coronal mass ejection, temporarily disturbing Earth’s protective magnetic bubble. The fast-moving ejection hit Earth at nearly 1.5 million mph.

The coronal mass ejection “is looking pretty strong” to potentially last for nighttime viewing in the United States, said Vincent Ledvina, a space weather PhD candidate at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He said this ejection is the strongest — in terms of magnetic field strength — since May, when storming started in the afternoon and lasted through the night.

“I think, in some capacity, we will have auroras in the U.S. tonight because the [coronal mass ejection] looks strong enough,” Ledvina said.

Where will be the best places to see the northern lights this week?

According to NOAA forecasts, the best chances of seeing the aurora in the United States is Thursday night into Friday morning.

If forecasts hold, the “severe” storm could bring the lights visible to the naked eye down to latitudes of Alabama. People have been able to capture the lights farther south on their cameras and cellphone lens. Sky watchers should also avoid light pollution to see the best displays of the lights.

If the storm weakens, aurora viewing will probably be concentrated down to more northern U.S. states (for example, Illinois or Oregon).

Skies will be fairly clear across the United States, except in the Northeast and the northern Great Plains.

On Friday, forecasts show the geomagnetic activity is expected to weaken to a “strong” and “moderate” levels. Those in the upper United States would have the best views, given clear skies.

A major geomagnetic storm has erupted, sparking widespread aurora. The storm might drag on long enough for at least the eastern United States to catch a view as well. Here is a cloud cover forecast for North America valid at 8 PM EDT from GFS. Blue is clear sky.

TT pic.twitter.com/ZGapkzhBgR

— weathermodels.com (@weathermodels_) October 10, 2024

 

What will the aurora look like near me?

Auroras are created when a surge of particles, energy and bits of magnetic field from the sun temporarily disturb Earth’s protective magnetic bubble, creating a geomagnetic storm. Some solar particles trapped in our planet’s magnetic field lines are accelerated into our upper atmosphere, where they can hit nitrogen and oxygen atoms. As they excite the atoms, they release photons of light in different colors.

Flares of northern lights color the sky over the White Mountains just after midnight Sept. 13, seen in Chatham, N.H. (Robert F. Bukaty/AP)

Auroras come in all different colors — green, red, pinks and even some purples — depending on the molecules excited in our upper atmosphere. Excited oxygen glows red more than 120 miles above the surface, and green from 60 to 120 miles. Excited nitrogen atoms shine in pink or purple below 120 miles.

As the storming reaches more southern latitudes, the aurora will appear in more red hues.

“Typically, what we’re going to get farther south is more of the reds because you’re looking at the horizon,” Young said. “We only see the aurora that’s very high up. The aurora that’s very high up is mostly driven by oxygen, and that gives us the red aurora.”

Will this affect communications systems or the power grid?

As the coronal mass ejection hits Earth, the influx of solar energy and particles could interrupt power systems and satellite operations. This solar storm arrived around about 14 hours after Hurricane Milton hit Florida on Wednesday night, which NOAA said could affect some hurricane recovery efforts.

The agency said the solar storm could impact ongoing emergency responses in several ways, including communications systems that depend on low-Earth-orbit satellites or high-frequency communications, affecting power grids already weakened by the hurricanes, and disrupting navigation systems.

During previous severe solar storms, planes were rerouted because of radio signal interference, power systems experienced voltage irregularities, and some GPS systems were no longer accurate. Starlink and Amazon satellites were also put in safe mode and moved out of orbit.

NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center has already briefed several state agencies involved in recovery operations, as well as the Federal Emergency Management Agency.