Dazzling auroras could be visible in the night sky as far south as upstate New York THIS WEEK as geomagnetic storm barrels toward Earth SWPC says a G1 storm watch is inn effect from Wednesday through Friday At its strongest, the storm will reach G2 level, which poses little threat to Earth While it could cause minor electrical disruptions, it will spur stunning auroras These will be visible across the northern United States through end of the week By Cheyenne Macdonald For Dailymail.com Published: 23:36 BST, 14 May 2019 | Updated: 23:43 BST, 14 May 2019 Viewcomments A geomagnetic storm is headed toward Earth’s atmosphere and could bring back-to-back auroras in the north three nights in a row. The NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center issued a storm watch earlier this week for Wednesday into Thursday and has since extended the forecast into Friday. It means Earth could be feeling minor effects from a series of coronal mass ejections emitted by the sun since May 10, including weak power grid disturbances. The incoming storm also means people in some northern latitudes, including parts of the United States, could have a chance to spot the Northern Lights. Scroll down for video At its strongest, the storm will reach the G2 or moderate level, which poses little threat to activities on the ground. It will, however, spur brilliant light displays also known as the Northern Lights visible to northern latitudes, between green and yellow lines in the map above WHAT ARE AURORAS? The Northern and Southern Lights are natural light spectacles triggered in our atmosphere that are also known as the 'Auroras'. There are two types of Aurora - Aurora Borealis, which means 'dawn of the north', and Aurora Australis, 'dawn of the south.' The displays light up when electrically charged particles from the sun enter the Earth’s atmosphere. Usually the particles, sometimes referred to as a solar storm, are deflected by Earth’s magnetic field. But during stronger storms they enter the atmosphere and collide with gas particles, including hydrogen and helium. These collisions emit light. Auroral displays appear in many colours although pale green and pink are common. SWPC says a G1 storm watch will remain in effect from Wednesday through Friday following three CMEs that have occurred since last week. A CME, or coronal mass ejection, is an event in which the sun spews out roughly a billion tons of plasma. These take a few days to make it to Earth’s magnetosphere. ‘The first two CME events are expected to arrive on 15 May and the third CME is anticipated to arrive the later half of 16 May,’ SWPC says. While major geomagnetic storms have potential to wreak havoc on satellite operations and Earth-based electrical systems, this week’s disturbance is relatively minor. At its strongest, the storm will reach the G2 or moderate level, which poses little threat to activities on the ground. It will, however, spur brilliant light displays also known as the Northern Lights. The phenomenon, called aurora borealis, will be best seen in more northern latitudes. This will include much of the northern United States, including Michigan and much of upstate New York. SWPC says a G1 storm watch will remain in effect from Wednesday through Friday following three CMEs that have occurred since last week. These take a few days to make it to Earth’s magnetosphere A geomagnetic storm is headed toward Earth’s atmosphere and could bring back-to-back auroras in the north three nights in a row this week. File photo As electrons from the sun’s ejections collide with Earth’s upper atmosphere, the interactions will spark colorful rays that appear to dance in the sky. ‘The accelerated electrons follow the magnetic field of Earth down to the Polar Regions where they collide with oxygen and nitrogen atoms and molecules in Earth’s upper atmosphere,’ SWPC explains. ‘In these collisions, the electrons transfer their energy to the atmosphere thus exciting the atoms and molecules to higher energy states. ‘When they relax back down to lower energy states, they release their energy in the form of light. This is similar to how a neon light works.’ Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site dailymail and under his responsibility