A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis(opens in a new tab), across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
The U.S. government's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued the first geomagnetic storm(opens in a new tab) watch at the second highest level of G4(opens in a new tab) since 2005. Geomagnetic storms have five ratings based on severity of their impact, from G1 (minor) to G5 (extreme).
"It could cover most of North America," said astronomy technician Tiffany Fields from Saint Mary's University in Halifax.
IN PICTURES: Aurora borealis lights up the night sky(opens in a new tab)
The evening light spectacle, which usually presents in a milky greenish colour, is expected to be visible in most of Canada. There's a lower chance of visibility in parts of Nunavut, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. It likely won’t be visible in Nova Scotia. In the United States, it could be visible as far south as Alabama and Northern California, according to the U.S. government's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
MY NOTE: Some of the pictures I saw were spectacular!!!
20 years ago it caused blackouts in Montreal, and other area's. They have improved the Power Grid since then so outages are unexpected but could happen. This could last for several nights.
-VR
