A severe geomagnetic storm may give us chance of seeing the Northern Lights late tonight or tomorrow night.
The storm was sparked by flares from the sun and has been gaining intensity. And that means the aurora may be visible this far south once it gets good and dark.
Aurora forecasts are based on a geomagnetic measure called the Kp index. For Northern Lights to be visible in northeastern North Carolina, the Kp index needs to be between 7 and 9. You can follow the latest Kp index at Aurora Alerts, and see a map of predicated aurora activity at the Space Weather Prediction Center.
Aurora Alerts also offers a real-time prediction of seeing the Northern Lights based on your GPS location.
Unfortunately, we likely won’t see the huge ribbons of light that can vary in color like areas closer to the North Pole. It will just appear as a greenish-hue to the northern sky.
The best places to see it will be where there is little-to-no light pollution to the north. So bundle up and head out to the beach for a late night walk.
