Northern Lights: A second solar storm surge is likely Sunday

A U.S. government agency said a weaker repeat of Saturday’s powerful solar storm was likely on Sunday.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said that “coronal mass ejections” — clouds of ejected solar plasma that can cause power grid irregularities and issues with high-frequency communications and global positioning systems — will slam into the Earth’s magnetic field and outer atmosphere until at least Sunday night.

On Saturday, the powerful solar storm put on an amazing skyward light show across the globe overnight but caused only minor disruptions to the electric power grid, communications and satellite positioning systems.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said that no FEMA region reported any significant impact from the storms. The U.S. Department of Energy said Saturday it was not aware of any impact from the storms on electric customers.

SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service said on its website Saturday that service had been degraded and its team was investigating. CEO Elon Musk wrote on the social platform X overnight that its satellites were “under a lot of pressure, but holding up so far.”

Missed Friday’s Northern Lights? The global light show, in photos

Brilliant purple, green, yellow and pink hues of the Northern Lights were reported worldwide, with sightings in Germany, Switzerland, China, England, Spain and elsewhere.

In the U.S., Friday’s solar storm pushed the lights much farther south than normal. The Miami office of the National Weather Service confirmed sightings in the areas of Fort Lauderdale and Fort Myers, Florida. Meteorologist Nick Carr said another forecaster who lives near Fort Lauderdale photographed the lights and was familiar with them because he previously lived in Alaska.

The Northern lights fill the sky at the Bogus Basin ski resort on Saturday, May 11, 2024 in Boise, Idaho. (Kyle Green (AP Photo/Kyle Green)

People in Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and other Midwestern states were able to capture photos of bright colors along the horizon.

Sunday night may provide another chance for many to see the spectacle.

NOAA issued a rare severe geomagnetic storm warning when a solar outburst