Northern Lights could be visible in Michigan on Friday
DETROIT (FOX 2) - The Northern Lights could appear in the northern half of the United States on Friday night, including here in Michigan.
According to the Space Weather Prediction Center, there's a chance of seeing the aurora as far south as Alabama overnight and into early Saturday. Much of Michigan is supposed to be partly cloudy on Friday, so that could hinder the sight of the lights.
On Thursday, NOAA forcecasted a severe solar storm fueled by solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CME) that began on May 8. According to NOAA, CMEs are explosions of plasma and magnetic fields from the sun’s corona. They cause geomagnetic storms when they are directed at Earth.
The most recent CMEs are expected to make the Northern Lights visible Friday night, and additional solar eruptions could cause geomagnetic storm conditions to persist through the weekend.
This is the first time NOAA has issued a severe geometric storm watch since January 2005. Only three severe geomagnetic storms have been observed since the current solar cycle started in December 2019, NOAA said.
Aside from the beauty of Aurora Borealis, it could disrupt communications, the electric power grid, navigation, radio and satellite operations.
When the time to see the lights is near, use this 30-minute aurora forecast to see where it is.
