Northern Lights Conditions in Georgia | Sunday May 12

ATLANTA — In what was an extremely rare event, thousands of people across the United States came out Friday evening to view the Northern Lights above the entire country. Many here in north Georgia managed to see them and sent us the amazing images they captured.

After this rare event on Friday, NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center issued another alert indicating that we may be able to see the Northern Lights again after issuing a G4 or higher alert on the Geomagnetic Storm Index . Unfortunately as we got closer last night it was downgraded to G3 and we were unable to see the aurora here in north Georgia.

On Sunday evening, the aurora could be seen again with another G4 or higher alert issued by NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center.

The agency posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that a severe to extreme geomagnetic storm was possible again Sunday and Sunday evening.

It’s important to note that just because a G4 Alert is issued doesn’t guarantee we’ll see auroras here in north Georgia, but it does mean there’s a chance we could see them. Plus, it might not be as spectacular as Friday night’s event. Remember that Friday night was upgraded to G5, which is the highest level of the ladder.

There’s one other thing happening tonight that we haven’t had in recent nights, and that could impact Northern Lights viewing. Clouds…

We will have partly to partly cloudy skies through the early evening hours, but hopefully we can see some sky around that cloud cover to enjoy the Northern Lights for one more night.

Although clouds are fairly widespread in the area, expect them to be less numerous as you travel northeast, but you may need to travel as far as Ashville, SC. North, to get away from it.

Enjoy skywatching and good luck! Don’t forget to share any photos you might get of the Northern Lights on the 11Alive StormTrackers Facebook group.