Northern Lights May Provide Colorful Show For IL Residents

Tonight might be the night for aurora chasers in Illinois. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the northern lights may be visible to residents in as many as 21 states, including Illinois, Tuesday and Wednesday.

NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center said the eruption of solar material and magnetic fields is prompting one of the strongest geomagnetic storms of the year. There have been a number of notable coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, since Monday.

NOAA expects a G3 geomagnetic storm, which is a large expulsion of plasma and magnetic field from the sun's atmosphere. When those particles collide with the Earth's atmosphere, they create the northern lights, or aurora borealis.

They believe the storm will produce a Kp index of 7 Tuesday night. Space forecasters use the Kp index to determine the intensity of the storm. It is judged on a grading scale from zero to 9. An index of 5 or greater typically means the northern lights may be visible across Illinois.

Of course, weather always has a say in what can be seen, and it appears Chicagoland residents may be in luck with mostly clear skies predicted for Tuesday night. According to the National Weather Service, partly cloudy skies are in the forecast for Wednesday night.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Space forecasters encourage aurora hunters to get as far away from city lights as possible and scan the northern horizon. Even if you don’t see anything, take a photo of the northern sky with your cellphone camera. The devices are better than the human eye in picking up northern lights.