Northern lights to ring in New Year's Eve in parts of United States
by Sheri Walsh
Washington DC (UPI) Dec 30, 2024

The northern lights are forecast to put on a New Year's show as far south as Illinois, New York and Oregon starting Monday night, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The powerful geomagnetic storm, or coronal mass ejection of solar material, is classified as a strong warning G3 that could produce northern lights visible through New Year's Eve in as many as 18 states.

The G3 solar storm is forecast to spark an Aurora Borealis "visible over many of the northern states and some of the lower Midwest to Oregon," NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center wrote in a post on X.

The CME, or large plume of plasma and magnetic field that is forecast to produce northern lights well into the United States, came from the sun and was flung into space toward Earth on Dec. 29.

"The sun has really stepped up over the past few days, with frequent solar flares including a strong X-class event!" said solar astrophysicist Ryan French. "A selection of these flares produced Earth-directed eruptions, expected to trigger a strong geomagnetic storm, bringing aurora, on the 31st!"

The electrically-charged sun particles, called ions, are expected to collide with the Earth's magnetic field and atmospheric gases to spark geomagnetic storms and lights, known as Aurora Borealis, in the Northern Hemisphere.

The northern lights, which are forecast to rival any New Year's Eve fireworks show if skies are clear, can be viewed between 10 p.m. EST on Monday and 10 a.m. on Tuesday with more activity expected, starting at 10:00 p.m. on New Year's Eve.

Northern lights are best viewed "within an hour or two" of midnight, between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m., according to SWPC, which advises traveling away from city lights and heading to higher vantage points for nature's light show.

In July, a G2 solar storm brought views of the northern lights into the United States, as far south as New York. Another Aurora Borealis was viewed much farther south than normal in October as strong solar storms produced skies of pink, purples and greens in Virginia.

Starting Monday night, Alaska will have the best chance to see the northern lights. Other states with good views include Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin. Also along the Aurora's projected view line are New York, Oregon, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

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