The northern lights dazzled the night sky over more than a half-dozen states this week and were likely bound to do the same late Friday.
From North Carolina to California and even parts of the Midwest, the dancing waves of light put on quite a show Thursday night, with many sharing spectacular photos of the phenomenon on social media.
This time around, Chicago-area residents unfortunately don't have that chance. According to NBC 5 Storm Team meteorologists, our region likely won't see the lights due to existing cloud cover. Just to our north, residents in Minnesota and Wisconsin had the opportunity to see the breathtaking illumination and will likely again Friday night.
The National Weather Service in Milwaukee tweeted a photo of the phenomenon late Thursday, encouraging some photographers to venture out.
The northern lights, also called Aurora Borealis, were generated by the most powerful solar storm to hit Earth in six years, according to an article on Space.com. The storm's unexpected ferocity made auroras visible as far south as New Mexico, the article stated.
The storm ranked as a severe G4 on the 5-grade scale the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration uses to determine the severity of space weather events.
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