Overview
- Reports and photos show northern lights visible across a wide swath of the country, with sightings as far south as Alabama, New Mexico and Arizona, and chances extending to northern California where skies allow.
- NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center posted a G2 watch for Nov. 11, a G4 (severe) watch for Nov. 12 and a G3 watch for Nov. 13 in response to a series of incoming CMEs.
- An X5.1-class solar flare launched the most energetic CME in the sequence, but forecasters say intensity at Earth cannot be confirmed until solar wind monitors about 1 million miles away register its arrival, giving roughly 15–60 minutes of notice.
- NOAA warns of possible short-term impacts including degraded HF radio and GPS accuracy, satellite drag and tracking issues, and power-grid voltage control problems.
- Viewing prospects are best from late evening into the early morning hours, with visibility hinging on magnetic conditions and local clouds and light pollution, and faint auroras often appearing more clearly on smartphone cameras.