What a show! Northern lights shine in Twin Cities and beyond

People across the Twin Cities and beyond were able to snap pictures of the shimmering northern lights Tuesday thanks to strong geomagnetic storms.

“Well, we’ve had activity tonight. A lot of geomagnetic storm activity,” said Space Weather Forecaster Shawn Dahl, who is based in Boulder, Colo., in a video posted on X.

Dahl explained that when those storms occur, “we can see things like the northern lights.”

The sun has unleashed several coronal mass ejections, with at least two already reaching Earth on Tuesday, Dahl said. There’s still another coronal mass ejection that was expected to reach Earth possibly overnight.

When the solar bursts arrive and how they interact with the Earth’s atmosphere determine how bright the auroras can be and how far south they are visible.

The colorful light shows were reportedly highly visible to onlookers across several northern states, including Minnesota, and could even be seen farther south, such as in Alabama, according to social media posts.

Here’s a look at the light show across Minnesota: