Boone, NC – Skywatchers from the Blue Ridge to the Smokies may get another rare opportunity to see the Northern Lights tonight, as a powerful solar storm continues to energize skies across the U.S. The NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center reports that G3–G4-level geomagnetic storm activity persists, keeping auroral visibility possible across West Virginia, Virginia, eastern Tennessee, and western North Carolina.
According to the National Weather Service, skies will remain mostly clear through this evening, offering excellent visibility from higher elevations such as the Blue Ridge Parkway, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and the Allegheny Highlands. The best viewing window will be from 8 p.m. to midnight, facing north and away from city lights.
The same solar storm that painted skies from Texas to Maine earlier this week continues to produce auroral bands that may stretch deep into the southern Appalachians. Conditions tonight are ideal for viewing — calm winds, low humidity, and crisp mountain air.
Temperatures will dip into the 30s and 40s in higher elevations and the upper 40s to low 50s in the valleys. Clouds will increase late Thursday into Friday as the next weather system approaches, likely ending the region’s short-lived aurora window.
If skies stay clear, tonight could bring a once-in-a-lifetime Northern Lights display across the Appalachian Mountains — a breathtaking sight above the ridgelines from Boone to Beckley.
