The North East of England could see the Northern Lights again in the early hours of Thursday morning after a geomagnetic storm warning was issued by the US Space Weather Prediction Centre.
The forecast comes after 17 solar flares burst from the same location on the Sun's surface to create a 'Cannibal Coronal Mass Ejection,' reports Wales Online. This could impact technology, but it could also see the Aurora Borealis lighting up the skies across the UK, much further south than usual, according to the Met Office.
Northumberland has low levels of light pollution, making it one of the best places to observe the Aurora in England. However, several areas of the county are predicted to have some cloud cover when the lights are due at around 3am on the morning of Thursday March 31.
Read more: How and where to see the Northern Lights over the North East
John Keen of AuroraWatchUk said: "Things are going to get very interesting on the night of March 31. There were 17 flares from a sunspot group 4 at M class. We are looking at G2 magnetic storms possibly G3 if the CME impacts combine. This might bring UK-wide Auroras."
A G3 warning could mean a temporary loss of high-frequency radio communications and low-frequency navigation signals, which are used in communications with ships and planes, and in satnav. Cannibal CMEs occur when flares swallow up solar material ejected ahead of them, combining into very strong magnetic forces.
The SWPC said: ""A G3 (Strong) geomagnetic storm watch is now in effect for March, 31 2022. A second, faster Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) erupted later on 28 March associated with an M1 flare at 3:23 pm EDT (1923 UTC).
"Analyses indicated the CME speed as approximately 841 km/s, and model guidance suggests this CME will overtake the day’s earlier CME and arrive during the early evening of 30 March into early morning of 31 March (EDT). Forecast confidence of an Earth-directed component is good, with moderate confidence of timing and intensity."
The alert adds: "Impacts to technology from a G3 storm generally remain small, but it can drive the aurora further equatorward of its polar home."
