The spectacular aurora, the nighttime display of light triggered by solar flares that has been so unusually widespread since Friday, could be visible again Sunday night across much of the United States as a powerful geomagnetic storm continues.
The northern lights, or northern lights, have been seen from locations much further south than usual, including much of the United States, Britain and some parts of Central America.
The bright green, pink and purple lights will again be visible Sunday night in places with clear, dark skies, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center.
“There’s a chance that what comes our way later today could be pretty comparable to what we saw Friday into Friday night,” Mike Bettwy, the Space Weather Prediction Center’s chief of operations, said Sunday. “Our prediction is that it will reach that level.”
There were reports of lights visible in Puerto Rico, South Florida and parts of Central America on Friday night, Mr Bettwy said, and could happen again on Sunday night if the storm is as strong.
He said the aurora “ebbs and flows for no particular reason,” making it difficult to predict the best time to see the phenomenon.
“In general, the darker the sky, the more likely you are to see it,” Mr Bettwy said.
In places with very bright lights, such as a city, it is harder to see.
Cloudiness can also block the view. That could pose a challenge for those hoping to see the northern lights in the central United States, where showers and thunderstorms are forecast.
Tony Fracasso, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center, said the best chance for clear skies will be across much of the West, as well as from Ohio to the Mid-Atlantic and possibly North Dakota and Minnesota.
New England was “a question mark,” he said.
In the UK, storms were moving north across Wales into northern England and Scotland on Sunday nightbut it was clearer in the south and east.
If you are in a clear area, take a photo or video with your cell phone. The camera sensor is more sensitive to the wavelengths created by the aurora and can reveal a different image than what you can see with the naked eye.
This weekend’s show is the result of the most powerful geomagnetic storm to hit Earth since October 2003. When geomagnetic activity increases, auroras become brighter and more active and expand to areas where they are not normally seen.
The Space Weather Prediction Center has a five-level scale for rating geomagnetic storms. A clock was in place on Sunday for conditions to reach level four or higher.
On Saturday, storm conditions were at level three and four, with a period of level five conditions in the early morning, the center said.
Geomagnetic storms can affect power grids, communications and navigation systems, but there were no major impacts from the storm as of Sunday morning, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The storm will continue through Monday, the Space Weather Prediction Center said.