(NEXSTAR) — An incredibly strong geomagnetic storm brought the northern lights into California, Arkansas, and even Florida, all areas that rarely get a chance to see the celestial colors. Much of the U.S. may again get to see the aurora Wednesday, if conditions pan out.
Over the last few days, the sun has been very active, spewing out X-class flares (the strongest possible) and accompanying coronal mass ejections (CMEs), which are essentially “sun burps” of plasma and magnetic material. Earth’s atmosphere was impacted by those outputs overnight, making the northern lights shine across the U.S.
Photographers photograph the Northern Lights at China Camp State Park in San Rafael, Calif., Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (Photo by Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
The Aurora Borealis lights up the night sky over Monroe, Wisconsin, on November 11, 2025, during one of the strongest solar storms in decades. The geomagnetic event pushes the northern lights deep into the continental United States, with vibrant pink, red, and green hues illuminating rural farmsteads and open fields across the Midwest. (Photo by Ross Harried/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA – NOVEMBER 12: The aurora borealis glows above rural Monroe County as a strong geomagnetic storm from recent solar activity pushes the Northern Lights unusually far south on November 12, 2025, in Bloomington, Indiana. Displays were reported across the United States as far south as Texas, Alabama, Georgia, and north Florida. (Photo by Jeremy Hogan/Getty Images)
FILE – An aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, lights up the night sky off Lake Michigan and the St. Joseph Lighthouse, Oct. 10, 2024, in St. Joseph, Mich. (Don Campbell/The Herald-Palladium via AP, File)
The northern lights along with a shooting star, at left, fill the sky behind the Saint Joseph the Woodworker Shrine Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025, near Valley Falls, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
As forecasted, geomagnetic storming conditions reached G4 strength overnight, according to NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center. (Geomagnetic storms are ranked on a five-point scale, much like tornadoes.)
The magnetic field — which can influence our ability to see the northern lights — associated with one of the two CMEs that were passing over Earth early Wednesday morning was “eight times stronger than what’s normal,” SWPC Service Coordinator Shawn Dahl said in a 4 a.m. ET update.
Chance for ‘extreme’ geomagnetic storm
A third CME has reached Earth, the SWPC said Wednesday evening. That could spark even more activity in our atmosphere, giving us another possible auroral show.
As Dahl mentioned earlier in the day, there’s a chance that the CME could spark extreme G5 storming conditions.
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“We’re calling it a slight chance to a chance at this time,” Dahl said. “But since we’re still expecting that third coronal mass ejection arrival, that’s going to cause us to have some escalated conditions yet again, perhaps.”
In its Wednesday evening update, the SWPC said the arrival of the CME “increases the chance for an elevated geomagnetic response,” but overall strength of the storming will be “highly dependent upon the orientation of the embedded magnetic field.”
Northern lights viewing forecast
Whether or not you get to see the northern lights will depend on how the CME interacts with Earth’s atmosphere.
The SWPC has extended its G4 geomagnetic storm watch into Thursday. Storms at this strength, like we saw overnight, have been known to bring the northern lights as far south as Alabama and California. At extreme G5 strength, like Dahl suggested we may see, the northern lights can reach Florida and Texas, if not further south.
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But forecasting northern lights can be difficult until the material hurled out by the sun is closer to Earth. The SWPC auroral forecast for Wednesday night has improved slightly since this morning.
As of almost 6 p.m. ET, the forecast gives parts or all of 29 states — Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine — at least a slim chance to see the northern lights.
The aurora viewing forecast for Nov. 12, 2025, as of 5:54 p.m. ET. (NOAA SWPC)
It’s worth noting, though, that the forecast was very similar for Tuesday night, but regions far south of the red viewing line still saw the northern lights.
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Should conditions reach the G4 and G5 strength Dahl mentioned, the northern lights could again reach into the southern U.S.
Where clouds may ruin the view
Clouds, however, may block out any auroral action, no matter the strength of the geomagnetic storm. Those in the Pacific Northwest, northern California, and parts of New England may see clouds rather than the northern lights, according to forecasts from NOAA and AccuWeather.
More specifically, northern lights viewing conditions could be poor in all or parts of Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.
If the conditions are less favorable, you may need to use the long-exposure settings on your phone or camera to catch a glimpse. When the northern lights forecast is weaker, it’s also often recommended to get as far away from outdoor lights as possible and look northward.
