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Rare G5 geomagnetic storm triggers Northern Lights in US
An 'extreme' G5-level solar storm is happening for the first time since 2003, triggering Northern Lights in some Southern states as far as Alabama and Georgia. The Space Weather Prediction Center issued its first "severe" Geomagnetic Storm Watch since January 2005 and said the event was the most powerful since the Halloween event of 2003. LiveNOW's Austin Westfall spoke about the celestial phenomenon with SWPC Coordinator Shawn Dahl.
Millions of people in the U.S. as far south as Alabama could be in for another dazzling display of the Northern Lights on Sunday night as Earth continues to be blasted by a historic geomagnetic storm that hasn’t been experienced in decades.
The sky was filled with vibrant colors of green, pink and purple from the Northern Lights as far south as Florida and Texas on Friday night after a massive sunspot the width of 17 Earths spewed solar flares, leading to geomagnetic storm activity reaching Level 5 "extreme" conditions.
The Northern Lights are seen above the Columbia River Gorge from Chanticleer Point Lookout in the early morning hours of May 11, 2024 in Latourell, Oregon. Places as far south as Alabama and parts of Northern California were expected to see the auror …
After a brief drop to Level 3 and 4 conditions, solar activity reenergized Saturday, and storms returned to Level 5 conditions, according to NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC).
The SWPC said another series of coronal mass ejections (CME) associated with the solar flare activity in the same region over the past several days are expected to merge and arrive at Earth on Sunday afternoon.
This graphic shows current and forecast solar storm conditions on Earth. (FOX Weather)
Because of that, a Geomagnetic Storm Watch was issued for Sunday as Level 4 "severe" conditions and possibly Level 5 "extreme" geomagnetic storms are likely to follow.
Space weather forecasters say watches at that level are very rare, and the Northern Lights may be visible from Sunday night into early Monday over much of the northern half of the U.S. and maybe as far south as Alabama and Northern California.