The northern lights could be visible across multiple U.S. states on Tuesday following a coronal mass ejection (CME) from the sun, producing a geomagnetic storm, according to federal forecasters.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center issued a geomagnetic storm watch for Monday and Tuesday. The storm can result from the arrival of a CME, or an eruption of solar material and magnetic fields, at Earth.
The solar eruption has the potential to push the auroral oval far enough south that people in roughly 10 states might see the northern lights.
An aurora provides individuals the opportunity to experience space weather, and many travel to arctic regions to observe it, the Space Weather Prediction Center said.
A CME reached Earth's magnetic field near 5:00 p.m. on Monday. It drove a geomagnetic disturbance that forecasters classified as capable of reaching G2 (moderate) to G3 (strong) levels, according to the Space Weather Prediction Center.
States where the aurora might be visible include Alaska, Idaho, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Washington and Wisconsin, according to the aurora view line forecast.
The forecast is based on the OVATION (Oval Variation, Assessment, Tracking, Intensity, and Online Nowcasting) model, of the intensity of the aurora, developed at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.
Strong geomagnetic storms could cause limited, minor effects to some technological infrastructure.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Space Weather Prediction Center, in a statement posted on X: "The magnetic cloud is currently also aligned north, so geomagnetic response remains much lower than the potential could allow for. If the magnetic orientation turns south, we expect geomagnetic activity to escalate quickly. Therefore, the G3 Watch remains in effect."
Wil Cheung, an aurora hunter leading an aurora cruise to Norway in October 2025, told Forbes: "We are currently in solar maximum, when the sun is most active, leading to higher chances of solar storms. This period should continue for a few more years, but from 2027 onwards we would expect a gradual wane in activity."
The Space Weather Prediction Center said the public should consider monitoring the center's website for more information. The center's aurora dashboard has an animation estimating what aurora visibility will be like for the next 30 minutes.