Potential geomagnetic storm Tuesday could bring another dazzling Northern Lights show to northern US

NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) issued another Geomagnetic Storm Watch only days after a historic geomagnetic storm blasted Earth and set off an incredible display of the Northern Lights around the world.

The SWPC said it issued a G2 “moderate” Geomagnetic Storm Watch for Tuesday and said watches at that level are not uncommon.

This graphic shows current solar storm conditions.
(FOX Weather)

 

A G2 geomagnetic storm could potentially impact power grids, like transformer damage, and could force corrective actions on spacecraft.

The SWPC said a coronal mass ejection, which is an eruption of solar material from the Sun, could arrive at Earth and lead to an increase of geomagnetic activity.

This graphic shows past solar storm conditions.
(FOX Weather)

 

In addition, the SWPC said the Northern Lights could be visible farther south than usual. The Northern Lights on Tuesday may become visible over some northern and Upper Midwest states from New York to Idaho.

MESMERIZING TIME-LAPSE VIDEOS SHOW NORTHERN LIGHTS DAZZLING SKYGAZERS AROUND THE WORLD

Northern Lights visible in Florida, Texas last week

A dazzling display of the Northern Lights was enjoyed by people worldwide, and reached as far south as Florida and Texas in the southern U.S., and even parts of northern Mexico caught a glimpse.

The sky was filled with brilliant colors of green, pink, purple and red from the Northern Lights on Friday and Saturday after a massive sunspot the width of 17 Earths spewed solar flares, leading to the geomagnetic storm activity reaching Level 5 “extreme” conditions.

The Level 5 geomagnetic storm was the first to hit Earth since October 2003. That storm knocked out power in Sweden and damaged electrical transformers in South Africa.

The Northern Lights display on Tuesday, however, won’t be as vivid or intense as what was experienced last week.