This story was updated at 5:47 p.m. Thursday with a statement from NOAA saying the possibility of G5 activity from the geomagnetic storm is decreasing.
A severe solar storm could bring the northern lights to Oklahoma. The storm, which may also disrupt satellites and power grids, hit Earth at 10:15 a.m. on Thursday.
Solar storms are caused by "coronal mass ejections," or a shooting of plasma from the sun. In a statement on its website, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the CME arrived at Earth traveling nearly 1.5 million miles per hour.
On Thursday afternoon around 12:30 p.m., NOAA said the storm was showing heightened geomagnetic activity, labelling its strength as G4.
Shawn Dahl with the Space Weather Prediction Center in Colorado said the storm is right now predicted to be weaker than the storm that hit in May, when the northern lights were visible in Oklahoma. There is still a possibility for a repeat performance, though.
“Will this be a global phenomenon or seen across the United States, such as the May storm? It's tough to say until we get a good read on it, and we would really need to reach those G5 levels for that to happen again. We do have a chance for that.”
Late Thursday, NOAA posted an update to its website saying the likelihood of a G5 storm is decreasing.
To best see the northern lights, you should head to a place with no light pollution.
