Severe Solar Storm Could Mean Northern Lights Over Missouri

Space forecasters have just issued a rare "severe solar storm" alert that will likely mean the Northern Lights will be visible over Missouri soon, but there are a number of factors to consider first.

NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center has an experimental aurora dashboard

Here is the bulletin just shared by NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center on social media. It's a G4 Watch for now as a severe solar storm has resulted in very powerful solar flares being projected toward Earth.

How likely are the Northern Lights to be visible over Missouri on Wednesday night, November 12?

There are two key things to watch. First, the timing of the arrival of the solar flare impacting Earth's atmosphere. The other factor is the weather. I checked the National Weather Service forecast for different places in Missouri and it calls for partly cloudy skies. That means if the timing of the solar storm's impact on Earth works out along with mostly clear skies over Missouri Wednesday night, the state could be in for quite a show. There are many great apps that will give you the current and forecasted KP index numbers to alert you when the Northern Lights will be visible over where you are. I would recommend grabbing My Aurora Forecast & Alerts or Aurora Now. My wife (the weather nerd) uses and loves the second one. Let's hope the incoming solar flares come through and Missouri gets a sky show Wednesday night.