The northern lights may grace the Cincinnati region again Sunday night.
Overnight Friday and Saturday, Ohioans had a rare chance to see the aurora borealis right from their doorsteps due to a strong solar storm, which brought views of the celestial pink and green northern lights to many portions of the U.S.
Sunday night’s skies may yield the same or even more intense results.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center forecasts a geomagnetic storm at a G4 level, out of five possible, early Sunday through Sunday night. The next series of very fast-moving coronal mass ejections will slam into Earth’s magnetic field and is expected to lead back to severe to extreme geomagnetic storms.
That means the aurora will be widespread and can be seen at lower latitudes, including here in Ohio. Favorable conditions in Sunday night’s forecast means we may have another chance to experience the northern lights – something Cincinnatians haven’t seen from home in decades.
Will the northern lights be visible in Cincinnati Sunday night?
Weather matters when you want to watch the northern lights, and Greater Cincinnatians are in luck: National Weather Service at Wilmington meteorologists predict mostly clear skies overnight Sunday with a high of 54 degrees.
The best aurora is usually within an hour or two of midnight, between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. Onlookers are encouraged to get away from city lights and head north for the best view. In some cases, the lights may be more visible through a phone or other camera.
Why are the northern lights visible in Ohio?
A G4-level geomagnetic storm is uncommon, and the NOAA has been watching it closely since Wednesday when the sun started emitting a series of strong solar flares. Storms can disrupt our communications, but also produce the aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights.
Couple the solar flare activity with the sun being at the height of its 11-year cycle, and the auroras have a very good chance of being seen by more Americans than usual.
Friday was the first time the northern lights have been seen this clearly in Cincinnati since Nov. 5, 2001, according to astronomer Dean Regas.
How to share your northern lights photos with The Enquirer
Did you take some great photos of the northern lights over Ohio? Here’s how you can share them with Enquirer readers.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Aurora borealis: Ohioans could be graced with lightshow again Sunday
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