People in some parts of the world Sunday were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights, including in Illinois.
According to an alert from NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center, parts of Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin and even Iowa were part of an "Aurora viewline" Sunday evening, as a geomagnetic storm reached strong levels following the arrival of a coronal mass ejection from the sun.
According to the agency, a CME is a "large expulsion of plasma and magnetic field from the Sun's corona," which can result in the "sudden release of electromagnetic energy in the form of a solar flare."
In some parts, this meant an Aurora Borealis was visible.
"I cannot believe this just happened directly overhead in DeKalb, Illinois!" one tweet that captured a purple and blue sky Sunday evening said.
Local
Much father east, in Willicott, Maine, the northern lights looked more crimson and green.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly> Chicago Catch-Up newsletter.
Across the pond, sights of the Northern Lights were reported in multiple spots, turning the skies in some areas "magenta."
According to NOAA, the aurora's green, red and purple lights gentle shift and change shape "like softly blowing curtains."
Chicago area forecast
The Chicago area will see a mild but windy start to the first full week of November, with above average temperatures as high as 70 degrees in some areas, gusty winds and a few early morning sprinkles, the NBC 5 Storm Team said.
According to NBC 5 Meteorologist Alicia Roman, counties to the north could see the chance for an isolated shower or two as the morning continues, though much of the day is expected to remain dry.
"Outside of a few morning showers along our northern counties," Roman said, "Today will be dry with skies turning partly sunny this afternoon."
Temperatures Monday will be warmer than average Roman said, with highs in the mid 60s to low 70s. By 5:15 a.m., the temperature in most parts was already in the 50s, Roman added.
"Highs today are feeling nice for the start of November," Roman said.
Though Monday will be on the warmer side, it will be breezy too, Roman said. Early Monday, winds had already clocked in at between 20 and 25 miles per hour.
By 9 a.m., those winds are expected to pick up even more, with gusts as high as 43 mph, Roman said.
Monday afternoon, winds are expected to die down, Roman said, with gusts around 25 mph in the 3 p.m. hour.
According to the National Weather Service, "seasonably warm" conditions are expected to remain in the forecast Tuesday and Wednesday, with a chance for showers late Tuesday into Wednesday morning and afternoon.
