A gigantic solar storm is currently hitting Earth's atmosphere, and it could create a stunning green aurora just in time for St. Patrick's Day.
The storm is ranked 4 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which means it is considered severe, the Associated Press reported. This is the strongest solar storm that Earth has seen since the end of 2013, and there has not been an extremely sever level 5 storm in almost a decade.
The storm was stronger than researchers had initially predicted, but appears to be weakening. It has the potential to disrupt power grids, but these effects should be minor. The most significant influence of the storm will most likely be on the Aurora Borealis. The bursts of radiation could cause the brilliant northern lights to be visible further south than is typically seen.
Forecasters have predicted the northern lights may be visible as far south as the southern United States, such as in Tennessee and Oklahoma. They will most likely also be able to be viewed across most of Russia and northern Europe, and even as far south as Germany and Poland.
There were also reports of Aurora sightings before the Sun rose on Tuesday morning.
"We have heard of some very vivid sightings of aurora before the sun rose today," Brent Gordon, the Space Weather Prediction Center's space weather services branch chief, said during the teleconference, NBC News reported. "Aurora sightings were mainly confined to the northern tier of the United States - Minnesota, Wisconsin, both North and South Dakota as well as Washington state ... and of course Alaska as well."
Watch the Aurora in Iceland live HERE.
