Northern lights could be visible from 20-plus states tonight. Will Ohio be one? How to watch

The northern lights might be seen from 20-plus states tonight as a solar storm pushes them south, out of the arctic. Will they be visible from Ohio?

Here's what to know.

Northern lights forecast tonight

According to the Space Weather Prediction Center's Aurora Dashboard , the northern lights could be visible across northern Ohio and potentially Central Ohio, depending on how strong the solar storm becomes.

Across the country, the aurora might be visible as far south as Oregon, Nebraska, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York and Massachusetts.

Aurora borealis map tonight

Here's the map the Space Weather Prediction Center created, showing how far south the aurora might come tonight.

Space Weather Prediction Center says geomagnetic storms likely tonight, energizing northern lights

According to the Space Weather Prediction Center , part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, strong geomagnetic storms, level G3 out of G5 , are likely tonight. These storms are caused by coronal mass ejections associated with a recent solar flare from the Sun.

The storm could cause some power fluctuations and disrupt radio and GPS signals. It could also push the northern lights to the south.

Will the aurora borealis be visible from Ohio?

If today's storm hits at G3 strength, it could bring the northern lights back to Ohio.

Shawn Dahl, SWPC service coordinator, said in an email that if lower G3 levels are reached in the late evening or early morning, the aurora may be visible low on the horizon from far northern Ohio. If it reaches higher G3 levels, or briefly strengthens to a G4, the lights could be dim yet visible along the northern horizon from mid-Ohio.

By comparison, the May 10 geomagnetic storm that made the aurora visible across Ohio was rated a G5, the most extreme, and brought the northern lights to all 50 states, USA TODAY reports .

How to view the aurora borealis. What time with the northern lights be visible tonight?

During times of high geomagnetic activity, which pushes the northern lights further south, the aurora will be visible directly overhead in the northern United States, according to the prediction center .

For the best viewing, the center recommends that it be very dark. Get away from city lights and avoid trying to see them on the night of a full moon. The best time to view the aurora is within an hour or two of midnight, or 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.

What's causing so many solar storms? The sun is nearing its solar cycle peak

The sun is becoming more active as it nears the peak of its current 11-year solar cycle, which began in 2019, according to NASA ,

As the peak, which is projected to happen in July 2025, nears, geomagnetic storms are more likely to occur. That, in turn, increases the chances that the aurora will be visible from the United States, Erica Grow Cei, meteorologist and spokesperson for the SWPC, said previously .

Following the peak, solar activity slows down, according to NASA, growing less and less until the solar minimum. At that point, a new solar cycle begins as solar activity rebounds.

What are the northern lights? How does the aurora borealis work?

Auroras are ribbons of light weaving across Earth's northern or southern polar regions, according to NASA . Magnetic storms that have been triggered by solar activity, such as solar flares or coronal mass ejections, cause them. The solar wind carries energetic charged particles from these events away from the sun.

These energized particles hit the atmosphere at 45 million mph and are redirected to the poles by the earth's magnetic field, according to Space.com , creating the light show.

During major geomagnetic storms, the auroras expand away from the poles and can be seen over some parts of the United States, according to the NOAA .

What is a coronal mass ejection?

NASA describes coronal mass ejections as "huge bubbles of coronal plasma threaded by intense magnetic field lines that are ejected from the sun over the course of several hours." The Akron Beacon Journal reports that the space agency says they often look like "huge, twisted rope" and can occur with solar flares, or explosions on the sun's surface.

NOAA offers aurora dashboard

If you're curious about the latest forecast for the aurora, the NOAA has a tool for that. The Aurora Dashboard offers a visual, animated prediction of where the aurora might be seen in the next few minutes as well as the following day.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Northern lights could be visible from 20-plus states tonight. Will Ohio be one? How to watch