Since Friday, social media has been packed with stunning images of the night sky glowing with streaks of pink, violet and green as a massive G5 category solar storm rages on, making bursts of the northern lights visible all across the United States. However, if cloud cover has impacted some stargazers’ ability to see the auroras thus far, experts say they may have another chance or two.
According to a report from NBC News, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecasters say the geomagnetic storm activity underlying the bursts of northern lights will likely return at full strength on Sunday, with storm activity extending into Monday and possibly Tuesday. To see them fully, experts recommend getting away from city lights and finding a dark, rural place to set up.
“Severe storm levels” were expected on Sunday, “active to severe storm levels” on Monday, and “unsettled to minor storm levels” on Tuesday, the NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center said in a forecast published on Saturday. Typically, the northern lights are only visible in the most northern regions of the continent, but experts say this is the most “powerful geomagnetic storm to impact Earth” since 2003, which has created a special opportunity.
“For many people, the aurora is a beautiful nighttime phenomenon that is worth traveling to arctic regions just to observe,” the center writes. “ It is the only way for most people to actually experience space weather.”
