Topline
The northern lights have a small chance to be visible for some Americans viewers in states on the U.S.-Canadian border Tuesday night, forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said, but geomagnetic storms caused by solar winds and a coronal mass ejection could cause more visible lights further south starting Wednesday night.
States along the U.S.-Canadian border have a chance to see the northern lights on Tuesday.
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Key Facts
Forecasters at NOAA predicted a Kp index of three out of nine for Tuesday night, meaning the lights could be visible further from the magnetic north pole, with brighter intensity and more “motion and formations.”
However, the Kp index is expected to rise to five on Wednesday, as solar winds and the arrival of a coronal mass ejection impact the Earth, causing minor to moderate geomagnetic storms.
What Is Causing The Lights Later This Week?
Two factors could cause geomagnetic storms this week, forecasters said. High speed solar winds escaping from less dense, cooler regions of the Sun will likely impact the Earth starting Wednesday, according to NOAA’s most recent space weather forecast. Wednesday could also see the arrival of a coronal mass ejection, or a burst of plasma and magnetic field that erupts from the Sun’s corona, the outermost layer of its atmosphere. When this material interacts with the Earth’s magnetic field, it can cause geomagnetic storms—and NOAA’s most recent update estimates there is a 75% chance for minor to moderate storms beginning Wednesday. These storms will likely only reach a G2 out of five on NOAA’s scale for storm intensity, but they still can cause the aurora to shine brighter and be visible much further south into the lower 48 states.