‘Severe’ Northern Lights Alert For 23 States On Thursday And Friday

InnovationScience‘Severe’ Northern Lights Alert For 23 States On Thursday And FridayByJamie Carter,Senior Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. An award-winning reporter writing about stargazing and the night sky.Follow AuthorJun 03, 2026, 01:52pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.A faint aurora along the northern horizon and the summer Milky Way rising in the northeast, over the winding Red Deer River north of Drumheller, Alberta, on May 5/6, 2018. (Photo by: Alan Dyer/VW Pics/UIG via Getty Images)Universal Images Group via Getty ImagesThe northern lights may be visible this Thursday, June 4, through Friday, June 5, from northern U.S. states and Canada after forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted up to G4-strength geomagnetic storms.A bright waning gibbous moon will rise after midnight and brighten the pre-dawn sky, potentially interfering with faint aurora. It’s also worth stressing that space-weather forecasts often change rapidly. According to NOAA, isolated periods of G1 geomagnetic storming are expected overnight on Thursday due to three separate sources of solar wind disturbances that may all reach Earth around the same time, increasing the chances of aurora.On Friday, a G3 or even G4 geomagnetic storm could bring auroras to mid-latitudes, affecting as many as 23 states.The U.K.’s Met Office advised that geomagnetic activity is expected to increase sharply on June 4, with G1–G3 (minor to strong) geomagnetic storm conditions (Kp 5–7) likely and only a very slight chance of isolated G4 (Severe; Kp 8) intervals. The Kp index measures global geomagnetic disturbance and provides a rough indication of how far from the poles aurora may become visible. Northern Lights Alert: Triple DisturbanceForecasters are monitoring a possible coronal mass ejection launched from the sun on May 30, a co-rotating in...