A set of solar storms rolled across the Earth in past 24 hours, producing auroras as far south as Iowa early Tuesday.

Social media is full of images of the red, pink and green hues of the aurora borealis occurring across the Upper Midwest and from central Canada westward into Alaska.

The sun is in its solar activity maximum. This cycle occurs every 11 years when the sun produces increased solar flares, sunspots and coronal mass ejections. These highly charged solar storms sometimes head toward Earth to create aurora and other dangers.

Here is more about solar storms and the northern lights:

Weather and Radar team of meteorologists provide updates throughout the day on the latest weather here along with cool science like auroras.