A massive geomagnetic storm could make the Northern Lights visible across wide swaths of the northern United States, but there’s a big catch in the Chicago area.
According to the NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center, a G3 geomagnetic storm watch will be in effect until Tuesday, with another storm watch in effect for Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning.
Officials say a “flurry” of solar activity occurred over the weekend, with numerous solar flares leading to a series of coronal mass ejections that are expected to impact the Earth in coming days.
The strongest of those CME’s is expected to impact Earth late Monday night and into Tuesday morning, according to Space.com.
Unfortunately for Chicago-area residents, there is a pretty significant catch. While Monday will be partly-to-mostly sunny across the area, clouds are expected to start building ahead of a low-pressure system that will arrive overnight Monday and into Tuesday morning.
As a result, cloud cover or rain could end up obscuring the Northern Lights if they occur, spoiling the show for residents of the Midwest.
Local
You can stay tuned to the NBC 5 Storm Team’s latest forecasts to see if any breaks in the clouds develop during the overnight period.
The Northern Lights occur when charged particles from the sun collide with Earth’s upper atmosphere, with the resulting interaction displaying a wide variety of colors that can be seen across parts of the Northern Hemisphere.
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There have been multiple instances this year of particularly strong geomagnetic storms that have made the Northern Lights visible across most of the continental United States, even as far south as Texas and Alabama.
These storms are occurring more frequently as the sun hits the “maximum phase” of its 11-year solar cycle, according to NASA. That phase sees the sun’s magnetic poles flip, with more sunspots and increased solar activity taking place, and can last for up to a year or more.
