ST. LOUIS — A severe solar storm blasted most of the U.S. with energy Thursday night, and residents across Missouri and Illinois got pictures of the rare northern lights display that came with it.
The storm brought "spectacular displays" of northern lights, or aurora borealis, as far south as Alabama, meteorologists said. The National Weather Service issued a Strong (G4) Geomagnetic Storm Warning Thursday after several moderate to strong solar flares were produced by a large sunspot cluster.
"CME passage intensified; things are favorable for G4 levels to potentially continue into night hours," the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center posted Thursday night. "We take actions to notify officials and critical infrastructure operators, so you can enjoy the aurora."
People across the St. Louis area enjoyed the rare weather event, with pictures to prove it. Here are some of the incredible photos viewers shared Thursday night:
Northern Lights across Missouri and Illinois on Oct. 10, 2024
A warning or watch issued at the "severe" level is very rare. Meteorologists issued a similar watch last May, the first time such a watch was issued since 2005. The geomagnetic storm in May also brought the northern lights to St. Louis, which residents in rural areas also got pictures of.
"A coronal mass ejection (CME) is an eruption of solar material," the center said on its website. "When they arrive at Earth, a geomagnetic storm can result ... The aurora may become visible over much of the northern half of the country, and maybe as far south as Alabama to northern California."
Along with the northern lights, meteorologists warned the storm could have also caused disruptions in communications, the electric power grid, navigation, radio and satellite operations, meteorologists said.
"Only three severe geomagnetic storms have been observed during this solar cycle which began in December 2019," the center said. "The last G5 (Extreme) was the Halloween storms in October 2003. That G5 resulted in power outages in Sweden and damaged power transformers in South Africa."
5 On Your Side did not receive any reports Thursday night of technological malfunctions or issues.