Northern Lights spectacle predicted for 4 – not 17 – states this Thursday

WASHINGTON (TND) — A solar storm forecast for Thursday may not reach as far south as originally forecasted, according to some meteorologists.

The celestial phenomenom scheduled for Thursday was expected to give sky-gazers in 17 American states a chance to glimpse the Northern Lights, the colorful sky show that happens when solar wind hits the atmosphere.

However, meteorologists with WJLA have determined the original forecast from the institute is no longer the case. The institute's updated forecast at 11 p.m. on Monday, July, 10 shows that the lights will be visible in parts of Montana, Wisconsin, Michigan and Maine.

Northern Lights, also known as aurora borealis, are most often seen in Alaska, Canada and Scandinavia, but an 11-year solar cycle that's expected to peak in 2024 is making the lights visible in places farther to the south. Three months ago, the light displays were visible in Arizona, marking the third severe geomagnetic storm since the current solar cycle began in 2019.

"The aurora is a luminous glow seen around the magnetic poles of the northern and southern hemispheres. The light is caused by collisions between electrically charged particles streaming out from the sun in the solar wind that enter Earth’s atmosphere and collide with molecules and atoms of gas, primarily oxygen and nitrogen," the institute described.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center encourages people wanting to see the aurora should get away from city lights. The best viewing times are expected between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m.

Auroral activity is ranked on a geomagnetic index also known as Kp and is measured on a scale from zero to nine with one being calm and five or more being bright and active.

According to the Geophysical Institute, Thursday's geomagnetic storm is expected to be a Kp 6.