Strong geomagnetic storm could trigger auroras over the Great Lakes

A twin burst of activity on the sun's surface could trigger a powerful wave of northern lights over the Great Lakes early this week.

According to NOAA/NWS's Space Weather Prediction Center, strong Category G3 geomagnetic storms are possible on Monday, September 16.

With this classification, the auroras could even be visible in southern Pennsylvania, Iowa and Colorado, according to the federal weather forecast.

This type of geomagnetic storm can also cause voltage irregularities on Earth as well as problems with GPS.

There are several events on the Sun that are responsible for this G3 rating.

Earlier this weekend, an intense Class X radiation burst occurred on the surface of the Sun. The GOES Solar Ultraviolet Imager (SUVI) captured an image of this action, shown below:

This 4.5-fold burst of radiation is also associated with a coronal mass ejection (CME) that is now heading toward Earth. This is likely to cause the auroras.

Last week, more coronal mass ejections hit Earth, causing northern lights to appear in northern Michigan at least twice.

Weather conditions expected for Monday are a little harsher than last week, but the light of the nearly full moon on Monday night could mitigate conditions.

Stay tuned to our MLive weather page for updates.