A rare burst of solar energy is setting up one of the most widespread aurora displays in years, with the northern lights poised to spill far beyond their usual polar haunts and into the heart of the continental United States. Forecasters say a powerful geomagnetic storm, driven by a colossal coronal mass ejection that has already slammed into Earth’s magnetic field, could make the sky glow for millions of people who have never seen the aurora from home. If clouds cooperate, the spectacle could stretch from the Pacific Northwest to the Midwest and even parts of the Deep South late tonight.
The storm is strong enough that auroras are also expected across large parts of Canada and northern Europe, with visibility reported as far south as the Mexican border and across the Atlantic into the United Kingdom. For viewers in the Lower 48, the opportunity hinges on getting under dark, unobstructed skies and knowing where to look along the northern horizon once the sky is fully dark.
How an extreme solar storm is supercharging tonight’s aurora
At the center of tonight’s display is a severe geomagnetic disturbance triggered when a colossal CME blasted off the Sun and reached Earth, energizing charged particles that stream along magnetic field lines into the upper atmosphere. As those particles collide with oxygen and nitrogen high above Earth, they generate the familiar curtains and arcs of green, pink, and red light that define the Northern Lights, a process described in detail as the CME raced toward Earth. Space weather experts classify the current disturbance as a G4, or “severe,” geomagnetic storm, a level that can both expand the auroral oval far from the poles and introduce risks for power systems and radio communications.
The Space Weather Prediction Center has issued a G4 Geomagnetic Storm Watch from late Monday into Tuesday, warning that the same conditions lighting up the sky could also cause intermittent issues for satellites and low frequency radio navigation. The agency notes that the last storm of this strength was years ago, and that the latest aurora forecast shows the best viewing across a broad swath of the United States, with the glow potentially reaching as far south as Alabama and northern California. Earlier this year, forecasters also highlighted that Solar cycle 25, while beginning to wane, is still producing strong flares capable of powering auroras over nearly half of the United States and much of Oregon.
Space weather specialists emphasize that the further north you are, the better your odds of seeing vivid structure and color, but a storm of this magnitude can still produce a faint arc or diffuse glow much farther south. Analysts tracking the strongest solar radiation storm in roughly two decades note that if you have trouble picking out detail with your eyes, a smartphone camera on night mode can often reveal green, pink, and red hues that are otherwise too subtle to detect, particularly during an event described as the strongest in about 22 years, when the guidance was clear that the further north you are, the better chances you have to see the northern lights. Photographers like Rob Mayeda are advising viewers to use time exposures of about three to ten seconds and to focus on the northern horizon to capture the Aurora during what has been described as the first S4 Solar Radiation Storm since 2003, guidance that has been shared widely in recent updates.
Where the aurora could reach, from the Pacific Northwest to the Deep South
Forecast maps from federal forecasters and private analysts show the auroral oval sagging well into the Lower 48, with visibility possible across a broad west to east corridor. In the Pacific Northwest, that includes Washington, large portions of Oregon, and interior states like Idaho and Montana, where residents are accustomed to at least occasional auroral activity. The same storm is expected to spill over the northern Rockies and High Plains, lighting up skies in Wyoming, parts of Colorado, and the Dakotas. One national forecast of where the aurora could be visible lists 28 states, with the view line dipping from the Pacific Coast through the interior West and into the Midwest, including the northeastern tip of Utah.
Farther south and west, the same maps show the potential for a faint glow even in places that rarely make aurora forecasts, such as northern California and parts of Nevada, which sit well south of the usual auroral oval. Social media reports already describe Northern lights visible near the Mexican border, with observers in desert communities sharing images of green and red bands that would normally require a trip to Canada or Alaska, a reach documented in posts about auroras visible near the Mexican border tonight. In the Southeast, local weather groups have issued a RARE NORTHERN LIGHTS ALERT for the Foothills, noting that auroras were already being reported around 7:30 p.m. in communities that almost never see them, a sign of just how far south the storm is pushing the aurora.
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