MINNESOTA, USA — The NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center has issued a Severe (G4) Geomagnetic Storm Watch for the weekend.
Over the past couple days, an active sunspot has thrown several coronal mass ejections (CMEs) toward Earth. These have the potential to generate the northern lights when they arrive sometime Friday evening and overnight.
What makes this event unusual is the fact that so many CMEs have been recorded within a short timespan. It typically takes just one CME to generate the northern lights, and so far there have been at least 5.
Friday night the solar storm was a G5 and tonight is forecasted to be a G3, so a pretty good shot of seeing the northern lights again!
Get away from city lights (at least an hour away from the Twin Cities), let your eyes adjust, and look toward the northern horizon. The Northern Lights should appear as a faint greenish glow which may appear to dance as it gets more active.
This is the first time a G4 Watch has been issued since January 2005, and it could be a good show.
Forecasts for the northern lights have a history of being fickle. Take any aurora outlook with a grain of salt, and hope for clear weather!
PHOTOS: The Northern Lights in May
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