Aurora visibility likely Sunday night in NC as G4 geomagnetic storm hits Earth
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — It's possible that central North Carolina could watch a beautiful night sky from the Northern Lights this Sunday.
This is being prompted by a G4 geomagnetic storm that came from a coronal mass ejection (CME) from the sun that hit Earth early Sunday morning.
Auroras are nearly impossible to forecast, longer than a 30-60 minute timescale, but we'll do our best here.
CMEs carry electrically charged atoms, known as ions. When these ions collide with Earth's magnetosphere, they can trigger geomagnetic storms, major disturbances in Earth's magnetosphere.
During these storms, ions interact with gases in Earth's atmosphere, releasing energy in the form of light. This light is the northern lights, or aurora borealis, in the Northern Hemisphere.
It's possible, but certainly not likely we could see some color in NC tonight.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This video was previously made before the most recent geomagnetic storm.Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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