Aurora alert: Severe geomagnetic storm could spark northern lights as far south as Alabama and northern California tonig

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Stargazing > Auroras
Aurora alert: Severe geomagnetic storm could spark northern lights as far south as Alabama and northern California tonight

News
By Daisy Dobrijevic published 10 hours ago

Attention aurora chasers! Powerful geomagnetic storm conditions could trigger northern lights at mid-latitudes tonight as a coronal mass ejection impact is imminent.


Northern lights over Higgins Lake, Michigan. (Image credit: Wiltser via Getty Images)

Space weather forecasters are warning of a strong (G3) geomagnetic storm, with a chance it could reach severe (G4) levels, thanks to a blast of solar material heading straight for Earth. That could mean vibrant northern lights illuminating the night sky as far south as Oregon, Illinois, and potentially even deeper into mid-latitudes like Alabama and northern California tonight.

The incoming coronal mass ejection (CME) — a vast plume of solar material — erupted from the sun in the early hours of May 31, it is currently hurtling towards us at astonishing speeds.

{snip}

[mahatmakanejeeves]

1. How to -- maybe -- catch a glimpse of the northern lights this week

How to — maybe — catch a glimpse of the northern lights this week

Greg Redfern | [e-mail]
May 31, 2025, 4:11 PM

Just over a year ago, on May 10, 2024, the aurora borealis lit up the skies worldwide due to an extreme geomagnetic storm. The D.C. region had several glorious nights of the northern lights in 2024.

The last a aurora alert for the region was in April. But over the next few nights, with the sun having had several significant events in the past day, the prospects of seeing the dazzling lights are far greater, with Earth directly in the crosshairs to receive significant effects as a result.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Space Weather Prediction Center issued the following Geomagnetic Storm Alert Saturday at 10:04 a.m. EDT:

Geomagnetic Storm Category G4 or Greater Predicted
Highest Storm Level Predicted by Day:
Jun 01: G3 (Strong) Jun 02: G4 (Severe) Jun 03: G2 (Moderate)

{snip}

Follow Greg Redfern on Facebook, Bluesky and his daily blog to keep up with the latest news in astronomy and space exploration.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. Sunday night/Monday morning

Things look to be pretty far to the north of me tonight. I saw Vega transit at 3:02 a.m., meaning that some of the haze brought on by the Canadian wildfires has cleared.

https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/communities/aurora-dashboard-experimental

https://www.spaceweatherlive.com/en.html