Millions of people across the United States were treated to a rare celestial display on Monday night as the Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis, pushed unusually far south into the mid-latitude regions. The phenomenon was triggered by a 'severe' G4-level geomagnetic storm, the result of a massive solar eruption that occurred over the weekend.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) issued a rare G4 geomagnetic storm watch for Monday, 19 January 2026, after a fast-moving Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) collided with Earth's magnetic field earlier than anticipated. The storm reached severe levels at approximately 2:38 p.m. EST (1938 GMT) on Monday, as reported by Space.com.
