Map: Northern Lights Could Shine in Some States Due to Minor Geomagnetic Storm

 

(NEXSTAR) — Another geomagnetic storm could bring northern lights to parts of the United States overnight.

On Monday, NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) issued a G2 geomagnetic storm warning, indicating that a coronal mass ejection (CME) is expected to impact Earth on Wednesday.

According to the SWPC, the CME halo erupted on Sunday. Ahead of its arrival, the SWPC warned of a minor solar radiation storm that began Monday evening.

As intimidating as these terms may sound, this geomagnetic activity will likely go unnoticed by many—except, of course, those lucky enough to see the northern lights.

Solar storms, particularly CMEs, are the cause of the northern lights. When plasma and magnetic matter ejected by the sun from CMEs collide with the Earth’s magnetic field, they throw particles toward the North and South Poles. When these particles interact with gases in the atmosphere, they create excess energy that appears as bursts of light, better known as auroras.

Northern Lights: Will You See Them Again This Summer?

The stronger the geomagnetic storm (the term used to describe the impacts of the aforementioned solar activity), the more visible the northern lights will be in the United States to the south.

Like tornadoes and hurricanes, geomagnetic storms are measured using a 5-point scale. At the lowest end is a G1 storm, considered minor but strong enough to make the northern lights visible in the northern United States, such as Maine and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. A G5 storm, described as extreme, could send the northern lights as far as Florida and southern Texas.

While the SWPC had initially issued a G2 watch, the forecast (see below) places the expected geomagnetic activity at a G1 level.

Unfortunately for those in the southern part of the United States, this means that the northern lights bright enough to shine Tuesday night into Wednesday will only be visible in the states closest to the Canadian border.

The SWPC’s aurora borealis forecast for Tuesday shows there is a low chance that residents in northern Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin will see the celestial spectacle.

Northern Lights forecast for Tuesday, July 23, 2024. (NOAA SWPC)

Residents in parts of Wyoming, South Dakota, Iowa, Michigan, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine can also see the northern lights on the northern horizon.

There have already been a handful of strong geomagnetic storms (and with them, episodes of auroral activity) this year, including some that brought northern lights to Florida and Hawaii.

While these types of storms are difficult to predict, experts say there’s a good chance we’ll see more of them in the coming year.

When will the heat end? New NOAA forecast

The Sun is currently going through a solar cycle, an 11-year period during which it reverses its poles. As it reaches the peak of the cycle, the Sun also becomes much more active.

The best part? It doesn’t look like we’ve reached the peak of solar cycle 25 yet.

We may not reach solar maximum for a few more months, Mark Miesch, a research scientist at NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center, told Nexstar. He also notes that more, stronger solar storms are expected through the end of the year, throughout 2025, and possibly into 2026.

If current forecasts hold true and maximum solar activity continues in the coming months, at least some Americans will be lucky enough to see the northern lights again soon. As for whether they will reach Florida and Hawaii again, we’ll have to stay tuned.