Northern Lights May Be Visible Again In These States Early This Week

If you missed the aurora borealis this weekend after an “extreme” G5 geomagnetic storm, there’s a chance the northern lights could dazzle again early this week according to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast for a geomagnetic storm.

NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center has forecast a G1 to G5 storm Monday, potentially causing the aurora to dance along the northern tier of U.S. states Monday and Tuesday

Those states include all or parts of Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

Over the weekend, people as far south as North Carolina and California saw the northern lights.

NOAA is predicting the Kp index — a measure of the intensity of auroras — could reach at least 5 if it’s a G1 storm.

At that level, “the aurora will move further from the poles, it will become brighter, and there will be more auroral activity (motion and formations),” according to NOAA. “If you are in the right place, these aurora can be quite pleasing to look at.”

For comparison, the May 10, 2024, geomagnetic storm that caused aurora displays around the world and as far south as Florida in the United States, was rated a G5 and had a K9 intensity.

• Related: 2024 Was A Big Year For Northern Lights

NOAA issued its second-ever geomagnetic storm warning for the event. In addition to ethereal northern lights displays, severe solar storms can also disrupt satellite and radio communication.

There were some minor headaches associated with the super solar storm.

Some airplanes were rerouted from areas reporting “voltage irregularities” to avoid any communication disruptions. Farmers in the midst of spring planting also had some headaches.

“While we can appreciate the beauty of the crazy northern lights we had on Friday night and everyone’s gorgeous photos, it wasn’t a good night for us,” a farmer from Vergas, Minnesota, posted on Facebook. “Like many other farmers, the solar storm brought us to a standstill because our GPS units wouldn’t work. There was too much interference. Quite crazy actually!”

The northern lights are notoriously difficult to forecast. Generally viewing is favored after midnight, but they can be seen earlier or later. The most up-to-date data comes from NASA’s DSCOVR and ACE satellites, which deliver 30-minute warnings of aurora displays. NOAA’s 30-minute forecast or use the Glendale App are also good resources.

The frequent displays of the northern lights were triggered by powerful solar flares and coronal mass ejections as the sun reached solar maximum in its 11-year cycle, a natural cycle it goes through as it transitions between low and high magnetic activity. The sun reached solar maximum this fall.

Auroral activity naturally slows between the autumn and spring equinoxes. As scientists explained in 1973 with the introduction of a concept known as the Russell-McPherron, auroral activity tends to peak around the March and September equinoxes due to the complicated relationship between the sun and Earth’s magnetic fields.

Now that the sun has reached solar maximum, are nature’s intense sky paintings just a fond memory to leave behind in 2024? Probably not.

Activity this solar cycle has surprised space weather scientists and forecasters. Solar Cycle 25 is the most active on record, and they’re not quite sure why.

“It’s one of the many mysteries to unravel,” space weather forecaster Shawn Dahl explained in a briefing with reporters in October. He and others expect more northern lights displays outside the Arctic range in 2025, and perhaps into 2026.