Solar Storm Visible The Northern Light in Michigan.

 Earth could be affected by a major geomagnetic storm starting Friday, causing the northern lights to be visible over much of Michigan, not just the northern region.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a severe geomagnetic storm watch on Thursday, the first since 2005 when the agency issued a so-called G4 warning. The storm was expected to hit Earth's magnetic field on Friday and continue through the weekend.

In an update Friday evening, NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center said the G5, or extreme, conditions have been observed for the first time since 2003.

Only three severe geomagnetic storms have occurred since the start of the solar cycle in 2019. The storm could cause widespread disruption to power grids, spacecraft and radio communications.

Solar storms can "induce an electrical current that isn't supposed to be there," said Robert Steinberg, a space scientist at the Space Weather Prediction Center in Colorado, during a press call Friday. "Our role is to alert the operators of these various systems so that they are aware and can take steps to mitigate these types of impacts."

The northern lights, or aurora borealis, create an ethereal light show that is usually confined to areas a little closer to the North and South Poles. However, due to geomagnetic storms, lights can be seen near the equator depending on the intensity of the storm.

The phenomenon is expected to be visible late Friday and early Saturday. Generally, the northern lights are visible in northern Michigan and areas near the north. However, storm intensity will make it visible as far south as Alabama.

According to Michigan Technological University, the northern lights are most visible in the night sky, so the best time to see them is after 10 p.m., with many experts recommending waiting until after midnight.

"We're less certain about the timing of these events because we're talking about something from 93 million miles away," Sean Dahl, service coordinator for the Space Weather Prediction Center, said during a press call.


"Predicting the arrival of these events with a very good degree of accuracy is extremely difficult because there is so much of what we call the solar wind … but we have a very high confidence of their arrival on Earth. It is less certain about the timing."

Its high northern latitude and unobstructed view from the southern shore of Lake Superior make the Upper Peninsula one of the best places in the mainland United States to catch the aurora borealis.