Skip to main content

Rare solar storm wows stargazers across America: 'So awesome!'

Historic geomagnetic conditions made the night sky light up across America Friday night with spectacular displays in all corners of the country.

Historic geomagnetic storms made for a beautiful display in night skies across America Friday night, with the aurora visible as far south as Florida.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, confirmed that the geomagnetic storms hit an "extreme" level 5 condition Friday. NOAA also reported there is no sign of these historic storm conditions slowing down until Sunday.

FOX Weather reported the cause of these storms is "a massive sunspot the width of 17 Earths." The scientific term to describe the phenomenon is known as a coronal mass ejection or a CME. 

MILLIONS OF PEOPLE ACROSS OKLAHOMA, SOUTHERN KANSAS AT RISK OF TORNADOES AND SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS

Viewers from across the nation from Washington to Missouri enjoyed the aurora display Friday. One social media user wrote, "I have ALWAYS wanted to go and see the northern lights! This is so awesome!"

In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, NOAA Operations Chief Mike Bettwy remarked "This was certainly quite historic in many ways, because we had not only a lot of intense auroras, but it also happens pretty far south into low latitudes, which we don't normally see very often, even down to South Florida." 

"There was pretty impressive displays all the way down to Fort Lauderdale, even parts of Puerto Rico. In fact, we got a report just moments ago about some sightings in Hawaii." 

All hope is not lost for those who missed the Friday night lights; another display is predicted Sunday. Bettwy added, "We are expecting a resurgence in the storming later tomorrow and into tomorrow night. So the display tomorrow night could be as close."

"Quite close to what we saw last night as far as how widespread it is. The color show and how vibrant it is. Looks like it's going to be quite good again tomorrow night."

Photos from all over America shared with Fox News Digital showed the historic meteorological event, from Maine to Southern California.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
 

Stock Quote API & Stock News API supplied by www.cloudquote.io
Quotes delayed at least 20 minutes.
By accessing this page, you agree to the following
Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.