Northern Lights could appear further south in the US, forecasters say

A powerful geomagnetic storm could bring a colorful display of the Northern Lights this weekend in some parts of the United States where they are not normally visible, weather officials said Friday.

The National Weather Service issued a geomagnetic storm watch for Saturday and Sunday after the agency said it observed multiple coronal mass ejections from the Sun on Thursday and Friday.

The storm watch came less than a day after the weather service measured the largest solar flare since 2017.

According to the Weather Service, the flare temporarily disrupted radio communications from some aircraft. Officials said it was “probably one of the largest solar radio events ever.”

On Friday, the agency said it had detected a coronal mass ejection arising from the same eruption on the Sun that caused the solar flare. A coronal mass ejection describes the massive expulsion of billions of tons of plasma and magnetic field from the Sun.

“It’s almost as if the sun has shot a magnet into space, and that magnet is going to interact with the Earth’s magnet, and those two magnets are going to come together,” said Bill Murtagh, program coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Space Weather. Administration. Prediction Center.

“And needless to say, there will be a response,” he added. “And that response is the geomagnetic storm.”

These storms can produce fascinating streaks of green or reddish light in the sky, called auroras. In the Northern Hemisphere they are known as Aurora Borealis, or northern lights.

The lights tend to reveal themselves in the furthest reaches of the Northern Hemisphere, such as Canada and the Scandinavian countries. The stronger the storm, Mr Murtagh said, the further south the lights can be seen.

This weekend’s storm is expected to be mild to moderate, according to the watch. The lights could become visible further south in Iowa, Maine, New York and Washington.

Geomagnetic storms have become more common recently, Mr Murtagh said. Earlier this year, places as far south as Arizona and central California were able to see the Northern Lights.

That’s because the solar cycle – in which the sun’s magnetic field rotates every eleven years – is approaching its maximum phase, also called solar maximum. It is reached halfway through the eleven-year period and is the time when the Sun is most active.

“The potential for seeing aurora will be much greater over the next two years,” Murtagh said.

The current cycle began in 2019 and was in what scientists call a solar minimum, when solar activity is at its lowest.

While geomagnetic storms provide an opportunity to enjoy the heavenly beauty, they are also a concern for officials because the storms pose a threat to the electricity grid and other critical infrastructure, Mr Murtagh said.

A small or moderate storm, such as that expected this weekend, could cause the power grid to fluctuate and, depending on its duration, damage transformers, the That’s what the weather service said. It can also disrupt satellites and slightly affect the accuracy of GPS.

But more severe storms can have profound effects, knocking out large portions of the power grid, leading to catastrophic power outages.

“We have created a vulnerability in this country like no other because of our dependence on technology for everything we do,” Mr Murtagh said. “We recognize that there is a threat.”