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Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News
Paul Huttner

Solar storms may bring northern lights, especially Thursday night

Massive eruptions on the sun may impact Earth

Sunspot AR3500 erupted on Nov. 28th
Sunspot AR3500 erupted on Nov. 28. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the blast.
NASA, via spaceweather.com

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Keep an eye on the northern night sky. The northern lights may flare the next two nights.

NASA instruments have identified multiple solar flares shooting out directly toward Earth. This explosion is headed directly toward Earth.

This SOHO coronagraph movie shows a halo cloud expanding in our direction moving at least 1.8 million mph!

These so-called coronal mass ejections (CMEs) can blast Earth’s magnetosphere with solar energy and excite different gasses like nitrogen and oxygen.

The result can be vivid auroras in the nighttime sky. Radio blackouts have already occurred this week.

Geomagnetic storm impacts
Geomagnetic storms have produced radio blackouts this week.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Space Weather Prediction Center

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center has issued a geomagnetic storm watch for Dec. 1. So-called “cannibal CMEs” could hit the Earth Thursday night into early Friday morning.

With 3 CMEs already inbound, the addition of a 4th, full halo CME has prompted SWPC forecasters to upgrade the G2 Watch on 01 Dec to a G3 Watch. This faster-moving halo CME is progged to merge with 2 of the 3 upstream CMEs, all arriving at Earth on 01 Dec. G3 (Strong) conditions are now likely on 01 Dec. Continue to monitor spaceweather.gov for the latest updates.

Spaceweather.com has additional details:

Three and perhaps four CMEs are heading for Earth following a series of explosions on the sun this week. Estimated time of arrival: Nov. 30th and Dec. 1st. The biggest of the CMEs, launched on Nov. 28th, could sweep up some of the earlier, lesser ones, forming a Cannibal CME capable of sparking strong G3-class geomagnetic storms with mid-latitude auroras. 

So keep an eye out for possible northern lights especially Thursday night into early Friday!