The best chance will be Friday night into Saturday morning. But clouds locally could obscure our view overnight. There’s another chance to see the auroras on Saturday night, too.
G4 conditions have been observed... pic.twitter.com/uWZC96N9F1
— NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center (@NWSSWPC) May 10, 2024
Here’s more about what’s going on and the science behind it.
Several CMEs are projected to head toward Earth this weekend. A CME is a coronal mass ejection from the sun. You can read more about them HERE.
According to the models and analysis provided at NOAA, it looks like three CMEs are heading toward Earth this weekend, some merging before they arrive. This merger leads to a stronger event, increasing the chance for auroras.
This energy is set to arrive on Saturday. It’s projected to be a strong class three, if not a class four event. Class three events normally produce auroras in states like Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, the Dakotas and Montana. But a class four storm pushes the aurora line much farther south, potentially as far south as Alabama!
If and when this solar storm begins, spaceweather.com will post alerts to the top of their page this weekend for real-time updates.
They also keep the aurora status on their website — just scroll down and look on the left side.
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