Northern Lights In VA: Powerful Solar Storm Peaks Wednesday For Another Chance To See

After Tuesday’s impressive display of the northern lights seen as far south as the U.S. Gulf Coast, they may repeat in half the country on Wednesday, including in Virginia.

Tuesday night’s widespread aurora displays, caused by one of the most powerful G4-rated geomagnetic storms of the current solar cycle, are the strongest since Oct. 10, 2024, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. If the solar storm maintains its severity, the aurora borealis may dance in 24 states, and potentially again in states such as Texas, Alabama, Georgia and Florida, NOAA said in its latest forecast.

The forecast calls for a Kp index of up to 8 on a scale of 0-9. The strongest G-4 conditions are expected to arrive between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., but G-3 conditions are likely to persist for many hours after that.

The forecast for the evening in Northern Virginia should be ideal for viewing. Tonight’s forecast is calling for mostly clear skies; however, be sure to bundle up as temperatures are expected to dip into the lower 40s.

Social media feeds were filled Tuesday night with photos shot with cellphones — even if they’re not visible to the naked eye, the cameras can capture images the human eye cannot — from places that don’t normally see the ethereal curtains of green, red, pink, purple and yellow lights.

Sightings were widespread across the state on Tuesday, with reports and photos pouring in from various parts of Virginia.

“The event for tonight was not expected to be this great,” said WAVY chief meteorologist Jeff Edmondson.

According to NOAA’s latest map, states that could see the lights are Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Central and southern states may only be able to see the lights with a camera.

Scientists were on high alert after two fast-moving CMEs, or coronal mass ejections — clouds of charged particles from the sun — erupted Sunday and Monday. The eruptions followed X1.7- and X1.2-class solar flares on those days.

“We believe that the ‘heart’ of the current CME — the magnetic cloud — is now passing over Earth and will continue to do so over the overnight hours,” NOAA said on the Space Weather Prediction Center website.

“We believe the final and most energetic CME has yet to arrive and may still be on track for a midday (EST) or so arrival,” the notice said. “We are seeing indications of another, perhaps stronger, CME moving through space, and that be the third CME we are still awaiting.”

The best time to look at the northern horizon is after sunset on Wednesday. It’s advisable to get as far away from city lights as possible, although many social media posts featured photos shot under city lights.