Northern Lights May Reach Northwest Indiana

The Northern Lights may be visible in northwest Indiana and elsewhere in the state this weekend. Federal forecasters said on Thursday, May 9, 2024, that the Aurora Borealis may be visible to a large portion of the lower 48 states due to heightened solar activity. Forecasters with the Space Weather Prediction Center said that during previous solar activity of this magnitude, the aurora has been seen as far south as Northern California. Astronomers on SpaceWeather.com say this weekend’s geomagnetic storm has been upgraded from G2 (moderate) to G4 (severe) because a giant sunspot has been hurling coronal mass ejections towards the Earth, possibly arriving as early as today Friday May 10, 2024, and persisting through Sunday May 12, 2024. The National Weather Service Chicago said in a post on social media it’s the first time in nearly two decades that a Severe, or G4, Geomagnetic Storm Watch has been issued by NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center.