Home
Weather New York
WeatherRadar
RainRadar
TemperatureRadar
WindRadar
LightningRadar
Weather News
Editor's Pick
Discover the app
Weather widget
Contact us
Apps
Career
    Home / Weather News /

    A strong geomagnetic storm is on the way: Who could see auroras

09:00 PM
November 30, 2023

Who could see Auroras
'Cannibal' geomagnetic storm on the way

Aurora image

Multiple coronal mass ejections (CMEs) from the sun this week are expected to produce dazzling auroras across parts of Europe and North America Thursday night into Friday morning.

Northern light watchers are on alert Thursday night into Friday morning as a potentially dazzling display is forecast to light up the skies. Multiple explosions on the sun this week unleashed four bursts of plasma from the sun’s corona toward Earth. These bursts of plasma are known as coronal mass ejections or CMEs.

A rapid Earth-bound CME left the sun on Nov. 29 during a powerful M9.8-class solar flare eruption. But this isn't the only CME that left the sun this week. Wednesday's fast-moving outburst will merge with several slower upstream CMEs that left the sun a day earlier, on Nov. 28, creating a "Cannibal CME" that will likely trigger a strong geomagnetic storm.

Auroras will be visible in northern Europe, Canada, and Alaska. How far south the northern lights will be visible is uncertain. However, it’s possible the lights could light up the sky across parts of the northern Plains, Midwest, and Northeast. There’s even a chance they will be faintly visible into the Mid-Atlantic, southern Plains, and parts of California.

Privacy policy

Powerful solar storms can disrupt technology. The incoming solar storm is expected to be large enough to produce auroras, but not large enough to cause any major technological disruptions. A watch for a G3 solar storm goes into effect at 7 p.m. ET Thursday evening. The scale for solar storms ranges from G1 to G5, with a G3 storm being categorized as strong.

With potentially dazzling lights in the forecast, you will want to get the cameras ready and check the WeatherRadar for the cloud cover forecast.

More on the topic
Meteorological vs astronomical autumn. Season start date. . . Tuesday, September 1, 2026
Tuesday, September 1, 2026

Season start date

Meteorological vs astronomical autumn
The best views of Wednesday's eclipse. Europe's sky show. . . Thursday, August 13, 2026
Solar eclipse: The sun obscured between wind turbines in Sardinia
Thursday, August 13, 2026

Europe's sky show

The best views of Wednesday's eclipse
What are weather fronts?. Weather explained. . . Sunday, August 23, 2026
Image of a temperature radar showing a clear distinction between a warm and cold air mass separated by a cold front.
Sunday, August 23, 2026

Weather explained

What are weather fronts?
All weather news
This might also interest you
More signs of autumn. Cooler days ahead. . . Friday, September 18, 2026
Friday, September 18, 2026

Cooler days ahead

More signs of autumn
An Autumn Change for Florida. Dry air and strong winds. . . Tuesday, September 15, 2026
Tuesday, September 15, 2026

Dry air and strong winds

An Autumn Change for Florida
30-degree drop on heels of equinox. Mid-Atlantic & Southeast. . . Monday, September 21, 2026
Monday, September 21, 2026

Mid-Atlantic & Southeast

30-degree drop on heels of equinox
All articles
Weather & Radar

Weather & Radar is also available on

Google Play StoreApp Store

Company

Contact us Privacy policy Legal info Accessibility statement

Services

Uploader

Socials

instagramfacebookthreadslinkList