A Geomagnetic Storm Watch has been issued for late Monday into early Tuesday, which means Northern Lights could be visible across Michigan on Labor Day and in the skies over a large swath of the U.S. and Canada.
The Geomagnetic Storm could reach G-2, or medium levels, on Monday evening and increase to G-3 levels overnight and into early Tuesday, according to the NOAA/NWS Space Weather Prediction Center.
There’s some excitement with this storm watch that falls on a holiday weekend. It’s because this was observed to be what’s called a “full halo” coronal mass ejection. That means it was an eruption of material from the sun on Saturday that expanded outward in all directions – forming what looked be a halo around the sun as it began its journey toward Earth.
The National Weather Service explained it this way: “A full-halo CME was observed 30 Aug. It is expected to arrive at Earth late afternoon of 1 Sep EDT and continue into early morning of 2 Sep. Confidence of Earth arrival is high, timing and intensity certainty is fair – with a chance for G4.”
A full-halo eruption like this can cause some strong magnetic storms. These storms can disrupt satellites and power grids.
But they can also create those beautiful auroras that dance across the sky in green and purple waves.
With this incoming storm, the Northern Lights could be strongly visible in states that border Canada, as well as parts of the lower Midwest.
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