Northern lights predicted tonight for 11 US states after last weekend’s massive solar storm — here’s how to watch

We could be in for a Northern Light show of epic proportions.

A barrage of intense flares erupted from the Sun earlier this week, causing worldwide blackouts and raising the possibility that auroras could be potentially visible in 11 states on Thursday and Friday.

This coincides with when a coronal mass ejection (CME) — a burst of plasma and magnetic particles from the sun is expected to graze Earth, likely resulting in a G1-class geomagnetic storm, according to Spaceweather.com.

“Even a glancing blow from such a CME can be potent, so don’t be surprised if the storm is stronger than expected,” the meteorological forecasters warned.

The CME was spawned by a powerful X8.3 class solar flare — one of the strongest in the past 30 years — that burst forth from the Sun on February 1.

It was part of a quintet of powerful X-flares this week. All originated from sunspot AR4366, a rapidly growing flare factory that’s been rotating around the sun to face Earth, putting our planet in the line of heavenly fire.

The X.81 flare caused strong radio blackouts across the South Pacific, along with shortwave radio disruptions across eastern Australia and New Zealand.

Meanwhile, on February 4, another powerful sunburst, an X4.2, was discharged from the sunspot, briefly disrupting radio communications across swathes of western Africa and southern Europe, Space.com reported.

Thankfully, as of yet, the barrage seems to be a paper tiger because, aside from the possible glancing blow from the CME spawned by the X.83, most haven’t tossed significant amounts of solar debris into space.

Nonetheless, the potential geomagnetic tantrum could cause auroras to ignite the skies in 11 states: Alaska, Northern Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Maine.

Although if the CME lands a direct hit, the Northern Lights could be visible further South.

As of yet, it is difficult to predict when the auroras will peak, because it depends on the solar wind speed, Forbes reports. However, stargazers can narrow down the window by keeping tabs on NOAA’s 30-minute aurora forecast and SpaceWeatherLive.com, along with apps such as Aurora Now and My Aurora Forecast.

For optimal viewing, experts suggest heading to a dark spot away from city lights and looking north. If you want to capture the moment, using the “night mode” on your smartphone should be enough to snap some good photos.

Thankfully, this won’t be the only chance to catch this celestial display.

The X4.2 class solar flare on Wednesday makes the auroras possible this weekend while an uptick in solar activity means that they’ll be frequently visible from the Northern US all year.

Solar activity is the highest it’s been in 23 years due to solar maximum, which is the most active phase of the sun’s 11-year cycle.