Auroras may be visible in Mid-Missouri again Wednesday night

The northern lights paid a visit to the southern latitudes again on Tuesday night, and a series of solar storms could produce another aurora display tonight.

The Space Weather Prediction Center has issued a G4 (severe) geomagnetic storm watch in anticipation of a strong coronal mass ejection (CME) reaching Earth on Wednesday.

CMEs are massive bursts of plasma from the Sun that are ejected at incredible speeds into space. When these energized particles interact with Earth's upper atmosphere, they cause gases to glow and create auroras.

Strong CMEs can disrupt critical communications and infrastructure, but they also send the auroras beyond their usual range near the poles, making the northern lights visible at lower latitudes.

Storm conditions briefly reached G5 (extreme) levels late Tuesday night, and another CME expected to arrive midday Wednesday will produce at least G4 (severe) storm conditions through Wednesday night. A G3 (strong) geomagnetic storm watch is also in effect for Thursday.

A strong to severe geomagnetic storm was more than enough to dazzle the skies over Mid-Missouri on Tuesday, with vivid displays of red, purple, and green in the early overnight.

Red is typically the easiest color to see in Mid-Missouri since red auroras occur higher in the atmosphere and can be seen from farther away. Green auroras are the most common and happen at lower altitudes.

The best time to see an aurora on Wednesday night will likely be right after sunset, between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.

Auroras were visible in Mid-Missouri several other times in just the last year and a half. The strongest geomagnetic storm in over 20 years produced bright auroras in May 2024, and another storm brought the northern lights as far south as Florida late last year in October.