GREENVILLE, S.C. (FOX Carolina) – Thursday night offers a slim chance to see the northern lights in the Western Carolinas, but don’t get your hopes too high.
A strong geomagnetic storm is expected to move in this evening, creating conditions that could allow the aurora borealis to be visible as far south as the Western Carolinas. However, the odds of actually spotting it from our region are low, and if it does appear, it will likely be just a faint glow hugging the northern horizon.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center has issued a G3 (Strong Geomagnetic Storm) Watch for Thursday and Friday. While this sounds significant, it’s important to note that this is not as powerful as some of the geomagnetic storms we’ve experienced over the past two years, which produced spectacular aurora displays visible across much of the country.
What’s Causing This?
Multiple coronal mass ejections — massive bursts of energy from the sun — are expected to reach Earth around mid-afternoon Thursday. These solar storms interact with Earth’s magnetic field, creating the colorful light displays we know as the aurora.
The geomagnetic activity levels (measured on the Kp index) could reach 6.33 to 6.67 this evening, with possible higher values after midnight. While this is moderate geomagnetic activity, it’s below the threshold of the stronger storms we’ve seen recently that brought more dramatic aurora displays to the Southeast…