Some Americans may be in for a rare treat this evening when a geomagnetic storm lights up the night sky.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center issued a storm watch for a G2 geomagnetic storm this evening beginning at 8 p.m. ET. The watch is scheduled to continue through Thursday at 8 p.m. ET. and may make the northern lights visible in some northern U.S. states.
The G scale for geomagnetic storms ranks the events from G1 — minor — to extreme G5 storms.
The storm is the result of a coronal mass ejection, which occurs when the sun ejects solar material from its outer atmosphere, according to ABC News.
When charged particles from the sun interact with the molecules in the Earth’s upper atmosphere, a glowing aurora can sometimes be seen in the night sky.
According to the NOAA’s aurora map, the states where lights may be visible are Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.
In states closer to the Canadian border, the lights may only be visible if the geomagnetic storm intensifies to closer to a G3 storm, according to the agency.
Geomagnetic storms like the one expected on Wednesday can do more than just create pretty lights in the sky. The NOAA notes that a G2 storm can also disrupt power systems in the northern reaches of the planet, as well as spacecraft, and its effects may be noted by power fluctuations in weaker energy grids or satellites.
The storm can also have an effect on migratory animals, according to the agency. A study in 2023 found that some species of migratory birds tend to hold off on travel during geomagnetic storms, possibly due to added difficulty in navigating.
March tends to be an active month for auroras in the U.S.
The weeks before and after the spring equinox — which occurs on March 20 — are considered “aurora season.” The increase in auroras is due to the way solar wind interacts with the Earth’s magentosphere around those weeks, according to EarthSky.org.
The best way to see the lights is to get away from bright city lights and to find a location that has a clear view of the northern sky. The lights will appear more colorful in darker skies.
