With many Chicago-area residents getting a fascinating display of the Northern Lights, NBC 5 Storm Team meteorologist Kevin Jeanes explains what a geomagnetic storm is and how it causes the phenomenon.
While the Northern Lights spectacle fizzled on Saturday - after an extremely stunning display the night prior, you might be wondering what's on tap next.
Severe to extreme geomagnetic conditions are slated to continue Sunday, according to the Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC), meaning there could be another night of spectacular auroras across parts of North America, including the Chicago area.
While the chances are there, seeing the Northern Lights might be a challenge.
Any solar activity will be much closer to the horizon, making them more difficult to view, according to NBC 5 Storm Team Meteorologist Pete Sack. But that isn't the only issue - increasing cloud cover is expected, which could further hinder what we might see.
For the best opportunity, you'll want to put your eyes to the sky around midnight.
The latest guidance from the SWPC indicates that another wave of the “intense coronal mass ejections (CME’s) is expected to reach the outer atmosphere later on Sunday, including in the Chicago area.
The issue is that the wave-like nature of the auroras makes them hard to predict.
Local
A sunspot cluster, more than 16 times the diameter of the Earth, unleashed a series of CME’s last week, leading to the issuance of a rare “severe geomagnetic storm watch” on Thursday. On Friday, the initial wave of those CME’s caused the Northern Lights to be visible as far south as Alabama and Florida, yielding spectacular views in the Chicago area that led to residents pulling out their cameras and phones to capture the rare scene.
In addition to the incredible auroras, there have been reports of power grid issues, problems with high-frequency communications and GPS navigation systems because of the ongoing geomagnetic storm.
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.
The sunspot cluster causing the storm is expected to rotate out of view of Earth by Tuesday, bringing things to an end, according to the SWPC.
