The northern lights may be visible over a large portion of the country tonight, including Rhode Island.
On Wednesday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center issued an alert that a geomagnetic storm could reach Earth Thursday.
Officials are predicting the geomagnetic storm , which is when an eruption of solar material and magnetic fields arrives at Earth, could bring colorful auroras over much of the northern half of the country. Forecasters say the storm may be visible as far south as Alabama, which would put it at nearly the same level as the display that stunned the country in May.
“Watches at this level are very rare,” NOAA said.
Here’s what to know about the forecast.
When will the northern lights be visible in Rhode Island?
Officials say they are expecting the aurora to reach Earth between Thursday morning and mid-afternoon, but they won’t know exactly the best time for viewing until the storm gets closer to Earth.
NOAA has a spacecraft one million miles away from Earth that can detect when a solar storm is headed over the planet. When it is detected by the spacecraft, the auroras are expected to be seen over Earth within 15-30 minutes.