Solar flares may cause faint auroras across top of Northern Hemisphere

WASHINGTON — Solar storms may cause faint northern lights across fringes of the northern United States over the weekend as forecasters monitor for possible disruptions to power and communications.

The sun’s magnetic field is currently at the peak of its 11-year cycle, making solar storms and northern lights more frequent. The sun shot out two strong flares this week, including one Thursday that was the biggest since 2017.

Where could the northern lights be visible this weekend?

Pale auroras may be visible as far south as South Dakota, Iowa and New York — but the storms could still intensify or weaken over the weekend.

“There's still a fair amount of uncertainty," Erica Grow Cei, spokesperson for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said Friday.

Unusually strong solar storms in May produced jaw-dropping aurora displays across the Northern Hemisphere. This week's storms featured fewer ejections of the high energy plasma that can drive a light show, according to NOAA.

Forecasters with the Space Weather Prediction Center at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued G3 (Strong) Geomagnetic Storm Watches for Friday, Oct. 4 to Sunday, Oct. 6 "due to a pair of coronal mass ejections" that are expected to arrive over the next three days. 

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