ATLANTA — In what was an extremely rare event, thousands across the United States stepped outside Friday night to view the Northern Lights overhead across the United States. Many here in north Georgia managed to see them and sent us the amazing images they captured.
After the rare event Friday, NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center put out another alert that it may be possible for us to see the Northern Lights again after issuing a G4 or higher alert on the Geomagnetic Storm Index. Unfortunately, as we moved closer to last night, that was downgraded to a G3 and we were unable to see the aurora here in north Georgia.
For Sunday night, the aurora may be able to be seen again with another G4 or higher alert being issued by the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center.
The agency put out on X, formerly known as Twitter, that a severe to extreme geomagnetic storming is possible again for Sunday and into Sunday night.
It is important to note, just because a G4 alert is issued, doesn't guarantee we will see the aurora here in north Georgia, but it does mean there is a chance we can see it. Also, it may not be as spectacular as Friday night's event. Remember, Friday night was upgraded to a G5, which is the highest level on the scale.
There is one other thing happening tonight that we haven't had the past few nights, which could impact our Northern Lights viewing. Clouds...
We will have a partly to mostly cloudy sky overhead in the early hours of the evening, but hopefully we will be able to see some sky around this cloud cover to enjoy the aurora borealis for one more night.
While clouds will be fairly widespread across the region, expect them to be fewer the further northeast you travel, but you may have to travel as far as Ashville, NC to get away from them.
Enjoy the sky viewing and good luck! Remember to share any photos you may get of the Northern Lights on the 11Alive StormTrackers Facebook group.