Long Island Could See Northern Lights Sat. Night

Long Islanders might get a chance to see something very rarely found in the skies above this part of the planet – the Northern Lights.

A solar flare, or coronal mass ejection, occurred on Thursday morning around 2 a.m., according to AccuWeather.com. The flare will reach Earth at around 8 p.m. Saturday evening, interacting with the planet's magnetic field to produce the rainbow array of dancing lights known as the Aurora Borealis.

The flare may also cause radio wave disturbances to electronics on the ground tonight, including cell phones, GPS units, radios and other devices, causing them to lose service temporarily.

New York City and Long Island are considered to be in "good" viewing areas, however, brightly lit areas will have poorer viewing conditions due to light interference. The lights could last as long as seven hours.

Other areas across the United States are expected to see the Northern Lights, including the Dakotas, Washington and Michigan - with the possibility of the lights reaching as far south as Iowa and Kansas.