Charged particles hitting Earth created powerful solar storms on Thursday. A geomagnetic storm warning will last until at least Friday, and additional sightings of the Northern Lights are possible.

NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colorado, said strong geomagnetic storms of magnitude G3 were measured Thursday morning as the effects of a coronal mass ejection from the sun hit. NOAA rates solar storms on a five-point scale, with five being the most extreme and rarest space weather conditions.

A geomagnetic storm occurs when a flood of electrons hits the Earth following a solar event such as a coronal mass ejection. These interactions can cause problems with the power grid and satellites, but the public need not worry. One positive consequence of a solar storm is that these electrons interact with particles in the Earth’s magnetic field, creating vivid displays known as the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights.

Strong geomagnetic storms are less common. However, in May, Earth experienced near-global auroras, even as far south as Florida, when an extreme geomagnetic storm occurred due to two groups of extremely active sunspots.

7 FACTS ABOUT THE NORTHERN LIGHTS

Northern lights spotted as far away as Las Vegas on Thursday

Those who got up early on Thursday at the start of the powerful geomagnetic storm were probably surprised to see northern lights in parts of the northwest and northern United States

The National Weather Service in Marquette, Michigan, shared this dazzling light show, captured at about 4:30 a.m.

Northern lights have been spotted in California and southern Nevada, including on Bureau of Land Management cameras near Angel Peak.

Despite wildfire smoke in the region, the National Weather Service in Elko, Nevada, had a good view of the Northern Lights on Thursday.

Northern lights over Elko, Nevada, on September 12, 2024.

Unfortunately, the strongest impacts of the geomagnetic storm will occur during the day on Thursday in the United States, with Kp index values ​​reaching 7 out of 9.

There’s still a chance to see more dancing lights in the early hours of Friday, when space weather forecasters predict moderate geomagnetic storms and the possibility of auroras from New York to Idaho.