Northern lights illuminate the US sky in rare geomagnetic storm — where to see them tonight

Due to a severe solar storm, the northern lights were visible across several regions in the United States May 10 — and the rare phenomenon could continue throughout the weekend.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center issued a severe geomagnetic storm warning for the first time since 2005.

The Space Weather Prediction Center shared on X that a coronal mass ejection was “anticipated to merge and arrive at Earth by late on May 10 or early on May 11.”

A coronal mass ejection is an “eruption of solar material,” and when it nears Earth, it can result in a geomagnetic storm. This can supercharge the northern lights and make them visible farther south than usual.

The Space Weather Prediction Center stated that the brightly colored ribbons of light known as the aurora borealis could be seen over the northern region of the United States and “as far south as Alabama and Northern California.”

“Overnight, aurora were visible across much of the United States,” the agency said in another tweet May 11. “Weather permitting, they may be visible again tonight.”

The geomagnetic storm will continue through "at least" Sunday, according to the agency.

“The threat of additional strong flares and CMEs will remain until the large and magnetically complex sunspot cluster rotates out of view over the next several days,” the agency said.

The rare event is not dangerous to humans, but it can impact technology. In a tweet on May 11, the agency said that the storm appeared to cause reports of “power grid irregularities” as well as “degradation to high-frequency communications and GPS.”

Here’s what to know about the geomagnetic storm and where the northern lights may be visible.

Where can the northern lights be seen in the United States?

As the extreme geomagnetic storm persists through Sunday, there is potential for the northern lights to be visible again in the United States.

According to a forecast shared by the Space Weather Prediction Center on X, there is a high probability of seeing the northern lights in the northern region of the United States.

This includes parts of Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, according to the agency's aurora forecast map.

While there is a lower probability, the northern lights could be visible across other regions of the United States, including parts of the Pacific Northwest, the Midwest and the Northeast.

To see the auroras, a cell phone camera may capture a better view of the northern lights than the naked eye, NBC News’ senior correspondent Tom Costello said on TODAY.

To see the massive sunspot responsible for the solar flares and the severe geomagnetic storm, Costello said the spot can be visible while wearing a pair of eclipse glasses.

Why are the northern lights visible in the United States?

The Space Weather Prediction Center issued its first severe geomagnetic storm watch since January 2005 on May 9.

In the “unusual event,” at least five earth-directed coronal mass ejections were observed and were expected to arrive between Friday, May 10 and Sunday, May 12.

Several strong solar flares associated with a "magnetically complex" sunspot cluster were also observed in the days leading up to the warning.

Solar flares are “powerful bursts of energy that can impact radio communications, power girds and navigation signals,” according to the Space Weather Prediction Center. In an update on May 11, the agency said that the active sunspot cluster was “responsible for much of the geomagnetic storming” and its subsequent events in recent days.

Humans are not in danger, but these events can affect power grids, navigation and satellite communications. Astronauts on the space station as well as airline passengers are expected to be safe.

“A G4 is really big, and we might absolutely see some effects down here on Earth,” Grant Tremblay from Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics told TODAY. “Your cell phone might not work. We’ll definitely have radio blackouts, those have already started to happen.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com