Northern Lights possible to view Friday night

The Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, will be possible to view across the entire Weather First area Friday night.

The Space Weather Prediction Center, which is part of NOAA, on Thursday issued a Severe (G4) Geomagnetic Storm Watch which was the first time the agency has issued one since 2005.

The agency described it as an unusual event saying at least five earth-directed coronal mass ejections (CMEs) were observed and expected to arrive Friday and persist into Sunday. They said flares have been observed and are associated with a “large and magnetically complex sunspot cluster which is 16 times the diameter of the Earth”.

Large sunspot groups and strong solar flares led to the issuance of SWPC's first G4 Watch since 2005… pic.twitter.com/oi55cTPXhP

— NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center (@NWSSWPC) May 9, 2024

Viewing will be possible across the entire Weather First area with the viewing line as far south as Missouri. Of course, better viewing will occur further north into Minnesota. The best viewing times are usually within an hour or two before and after midnight.

The forecast calls for mainly clear skies with temperatures generally in the 50s making for great viewing conditions. As always, getting further away from city lights and population centers will make for the best opportunity for viewing.

It’s also important to know that the Northern Lights are always tricky to forecast and nothing is guaranteed.