Aurora borealis puts on a show over Ohio. Will we see the northern lights again tonight?

The northern lights returned to Ohio on Thursday , glowing in the skies overhead from Cleveland to Cincinnati.

Will the aurora borealis return tonight? Here's a look at the forecast.

Why were the northern lights visible Thursday night?

According to the Space Weather Prediction Center , a severe geomagnetic storm caused by plasma and magnetic fields erupting from the sun hit the Earth Thursday afternoon. According to an update posted Thursday afternoon, the storm reached an intensity of G4 on a scale of 5 , the SWPC observed, with the potential for it to strengthen to a G5.

At G4 levels, the aurora has the potential to be seen as far south as Alabama, according to the SWPC. If it hit G5 levels, the northern lights might be seen across the United States and further south, as happened during the May 10 geomagnetic storm .

Can you see the northern lights in Ohio tonight?

It seems unlikely that the aurora will return to Ohio tonight. The latest alert from the SWPC calls for the aurora to be visible at high latitudes, such as Canada and Alaska.

What time would the northern lights be visible tonight?

If Ohio is lucky enough to see the northern lights again tonight, be prepared for a late night.

During times of high geomagnetic activity, which pushes the northern lights further south, the aurora are 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.

Aurora photos from across Ohio shared on social media

Social media users captured stunning images of Thursday's aurora, and shared them with the world. Here's a sample:

Northern lights from out here in Copley!
by u/CPGemini08 in akron

Best photo I got with my phone - East Fork State Park
by u/Ryermeke in cincinnati

What causes the northern lights?

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.

Severe solar storm that caused northern lights could stress power grids already hurt by hurricanes

In preparation for the solar storm, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration notified the Federal Emergency Management Agency about possible power grid disruptions as FEMA copes with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton , which just hit Florida, NPR reports .

Florida is far enough south to avoid any power disruptions from the solar storm, Rob Steenburgh, a scientist with NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center, told NPR. However, NOAA space weather forecaster Shawn Dahl told NPR that experts are more concerned about how the geomagnetic storm will impact the power grid in areas recovering from Helene, which hit two weeks ago.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Aurora borealis puts on a show over Ohio. Will we see the northern lights again tonight?