Northern Lights Visible Across US due to Solar Storm

Northern Lights Visible Across US due to Solar Storm

Another USA incredible light show is excepted to shine across the U.S. tonight. Here are our favorite shots of the dazzling aurora so far.If you missed the incredible light show from Mother Nature last night, you’re in luck. The aurora borealis, or northern lights, may be visible again tonight, November 12, and it could be an even more spectacular show. So charge up those cameras.The USA northern lights made a rare appearance on November 11 with sightings reported as far south as Alabama and Florida, and as far northeast as New Jersey and Pennsylvania. If you didn’t stay up, or are heading out again to chase the aurora, you’ll have another chance tonight to see the sky aglow in dancing streams of color.NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center reported in an updated forecast that another storm is on its way that could make for just as good of a show as last night. Based on the latest NOAA aurora forecast map, these 17  states appear fully or partially above the aurora view line.The northern lights photos from around the U.S. this week blew our minds. Check out our favorites of the aurora from across the country.The aurora borealis lit up the sky over Nubble Lighthouse in York, Maine last night. “This was a much stronger geomagnetic storm than I experienced a little over a year ago. The colors were super vibrant and clearly visible to the naked eye.”The aurora borealis lit up the night sky over Monroe, Wisconsin, on November 11, 2025, during one of the strongest solar storms in decades. The geomagnetic event pushed the northern lights deep into the continental U.S, with vibrant pink, red, and green hues illuminating rural farmsteads and open fields across the Midwest. 

Following a dazzling display of the northern lights across much of the U.S. Tuesday night, another spectacular show is expected late Wednesday.

Submit your pictures of the northern lights here

Tuesday night's geomagnetic activity reached severe levels according to the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center. The Planetary K-index, a measure of how disturbed the Earth's geomagnetic field is as it gets pelted by charged particles emitted from the sun, maxed out at 8.67 on a scale of 0 to 9. This prompted northern lights sightings as far south as Texas, and a bright light show in the Chicago area between 9 p.m. and midnight.Tonight's geomagnetic activity is

again forecast to reach a K-index of 8 – a severe geomagnetic storm capable of producing widespread northern lights. If NOAA's forecast verifies, northern lights will again be spotted across the U.S. and certainly in the Chicago area.The sun sets at 4:32 p.m. Wednesday in Chicago. Your best chance of seeing the northern lights this evening will come as geomagnetic activity peaks between 6 p.m. and midnight. While a few high clouds will move through the area, they should be transparent enough that you can still see the light show.USA Geomagnetic storms of this magnitude are rare, only occurring roughly 60 days per 11-year solar cycle, or 1.4% of the time according to NOAA. They can cause voltage control problems on long power lines, increase radiation levels for astronauts in spacewalk, interfere with GPS accuracy and high-frequency radio signals, and even cause aircraft to reroute farther from the poles where interference

is highest.USA Light pollution makes the northern lights harder to see, but there are things you can do even if you live in the city that can improve your chances of catching the show tonight. If you have a camera or cell phone, that also improves your changes; both are capable of getting better images than you may see with the naked eye since they essentially take in more light and read the colors more vividly, according to Nick Sinnott, owner of Chicago Photography Classes.Among his key tips: find the darkest space you can get, get your phone on a tripod or sturdy surface and try to put something in the foreground for better composition. And if you find yourself near a pro, don't be afraid to reach out."What you will see is a lot of photographers out there with tripods. Don't be afraid to go up and talk to them. Ask them, because we've got a really really wonderful photographic community here in Chicago, and it certainly will be willing to show you your shots and point you in the right direction," Sinnott said. First heading toward the lakefront or other areas with less pollution will help. Sinnott said Montroe and North Avenue beaches are both good, as is the area around the Adler Planetarium. He also said your best photos might take a few seconds for your camera to capture, as long exposures help pick up the colors, so be sure to have patience.   The aurora borealis appeared in unexpected parts of the United States — including Colorado — on Tuesday, Nov. 11.There may be more opportunities to witness the auroras, including tonight, though clouds may make it harder to see.From Palisade to Gunnison and Ridgway to Erie, here's what residents across the state caught on camera last night.

A severe geomagnetic storm may bring the northern lights, or aurora borealis, back to New York City on Wednesday night. 

USA NASA said it had monitored a solar flare Tuesday and classified it as a G4. The highest level of geomagnetic storm is G5, extreme. A G4 storm is capable of creating an aurora visibility zone that stretches all the way to Northern California and Alabama. The G4 solar flare was expected to hit Earth around midday Wednesday. Officials cautioned that it could cause disruptions to communication infrastructure like satellites, GPS systems and other technology, including, potentially, power grid stability. The storms cause the disruptions by interfering with Earth's magnetic field.It may also mean that the northern lights might be visible in and around the Big Apple.  

The sun is a mass of gas and it is boiling and rolling and sometimes magnetic field lines on the sun interrupt that boiling and it can cause tension and then there are these eruptions called coronal mass ejections," Gallagher. "They were hitting the Earth kind of boom, boom. There were several of them and as those charged particles from the sun intersect with Earth's magnetic field the charged particles spiral into our atmosphere, interact with the atmosphere, and then we get these dancing lights in the sky."Gallagher took her own photos Tuesday night while standing on her street."The pink and the green are oxygen interacting with those charged particles and lower you'll get blues and purples and that's nitrogenNew York City obviously contends with a lot of light pollution, which may make for challenging conditions to see the northern lights. However the Big Apple, most of New Jersey and all of Connecticut are in the zone in which it is considered "possible" to see them this evening. It's more likely they'll be visible across central and northern parts of New York, but those areas will be dealing with a bit of cloud cover, as well. Closer to home, there's a chance you could catch a faint glow on the horizon across the Catskills, Hudson Valley, northern New Jersey, and Connecticut. South of the city, the odds are slimmer, but it's worth a look if you're out and about.

Gallagher said for a clearer glimpse, smartphone cameras may do the trick."The camera is a little bit more sensitive and its lens can be opened longer. That allows it to see things that are a little bit dimmer than your eyes can see," Gallagher said.

For live maps, see NOAA's aurora forecast model here. 

In October of 2024, the northern lights dazzled New Yorkers, lighting up the skies over the city skyline with pink and purple. 

This is a short-term forecast of the location and intensity of the aurora.  This product is based on the OVATION model and provides a 30 to 90 minute forecast of the location and intensity of the aurora.  The forecast lead time is the time it takes for the solar wind to travel from the L1 observation point to Earth.  

The two maps show the North and South poles of Earth respectively. The brightness and location of the aurora is typically shown as a green oval centered on Earth’s magnetic pole.  The green ovals turn red when the aurora is forecasted to be more intense.  The sunlit side of Earth is indicated by the lighter blue of the ocean and the lighter color of the continents. Aurora can often be observed somewhere on Earth from just after sunset or just before sunrise. The aurora is not visible during daylight hours.  The aurora does not need to be directly overhead but can be observed from as much as a 1000 km away when the aurora is bright and if conditions are right. 

The aurora is an indicator of the current geomagnetic storm conditions and provides situational awareness for a number of technologies.  The aurora directly impacts HF radio communication and GPS/GNSS satellite navigation.  It is closely related to the ground-induced currents that impact electric power transmission. 

For many people, the aurora is a beautiful nighttime phenomenon that is worth traveling to arctic regions just to observe.  It is the only way for most people to actually experience space weather. 

These links provide a discussion of the aurora phenomena and tips for the best opportunities to view aurora at various locations around the world.  

Posted on 2025/11/13 09:08 AM