Northeast Ohio could get another glimpse of the northern lights

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The northern lights, which in May dazzled onlookers in Cleveland and well beyond with a spectacular show, maybe – just maybe – might appear in the skies over northern Ohio again Sunday night.

A forecast by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, showed that northern Ohio could get a glimpse of the northern lights, also known as the aurora borealis. The view line could extend just below the Cleveland-area. Several places in the northwestern and northeastern U.S. and Canada may also be able to see the lights.

A forecast for Monday night showed a low likelihood of seeing the northern lights in Ohio as the view line was shown more north of the state.

In May, the lights were more vibrant than usual in the area, which is unusual as the northern lights are known to be more vibrant farther north.

Elizabeth MacDonald, NASA scientist with its Heliophysics Division, previously told cleveland.com, that the reason the Northern Lights were visible so far south was due to ejections that shot toward Earth being so intense. There was so much energy in the Earth’s magnetic field that it was released to a broader region.

So the May lights were seen as far south as Florida.

MacDonald added that the we were getting toward the maximum of an 11-year solar cycle, and as result there “are more of these flares and big burps of radiation and particles.”

Though May brought the vibrant beauty of the northern lights to Northeast Ohio, this may not be the case Sunday night.