Idaho could receive another northern lights show from latest geomagnetic storm

SALT LAKE CITY (KSL) — Utah, Idaho and other parts of the West could see another heavenly show on Friday night.

The National Weather Service’s Space Weather Prediction Center issued a watch for a G3 (strong) geomagnetic storm earlier this week, predicting strong solar activity on Thursday and Friday that increases the odds of magnetic field disruptions. It also increases the odds that an aurora borealis will be visible farther away from Earth’s poles, including Utah.

An aurora borealis, or northern lights, occurs when solar material from the sun hits Earth’s magnetic field, creating a colorful display in the sky.

This week’s watch is one of the strongest alerts so far this year, following a G4 (severe) watch for a storm that produced northern lights visible in Idaho and Utah in November. High aurora activity could linger past sunset, according to the University of Alaska-Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute.

The northern lights “may be visible” in east Idaho and northern Utah, and are also “possible” across the rest of Utah this time around, according to a map produced by the Space Weather Prediction Center. Some areas might be able to see it with a camera, if not the naked eye.

Most of Wyoming may also see the spectacle, and visibility forecast as “likely” across north Idaho, most of Washington and Montana.

The watch extends until Friday night, but the Geophysical Institute projects lower activity levels by the time the sun sets across the West.

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