Weather Insider: May 2024 geomagnetic storm

The Space Weather Prediction Center is a branch of the National Weather Service and monitors the space environment around Earth. They have confirmed that G5 conditions have been observed tonight! This is the first time G5 conditions have been observed since 2003. The SWPC says that the best time to see the northern lights is between 10 PM and 2 AM.

These types of storms are caused by a series of charged particles interacting with Earth's magnetic field and atmosphere. These often arise from Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) which spew massive amounts of charged particles into the solar system.

As the charged particles from the sun interact with the atmosphere, they can collide with molecules of gasses. This "excites" the molecules causing them to release the extra energy in the form of light. These lights are what we call the northern and southern lights.