It’s fair to say that 2020 has been quite an unusual and unexpected year. From the global pandemic to the appearance of a rare Christmas star, nothing about this year has been typical. This week, a solar storm has the potential to make the Northern Lights visible from a list of places you wouldn’t normally be able to see them—and Ohio is included in that list. Here’s what you need to know:

Due to a Geomagnetic Storm Watch in effect from December 9 - 11, there's a possibility that portions of Ohio could see the Northern Lights this year.
greenzowie/Flickr
For more information about this solar storm and how it could impact earth, visit the Space Weather Prediction Center's website.
Specifically, it looks as if the lights will be visible from Washington state to Maine and as far south as Nebraska and Iowa, according to the National Weather Service.
NWS Cleveland/Twitter
Here in Ohio, the lights are most likely to be visible in the Great Lakes region.

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Also known as the Aurora Borealis, the Northern Lights are a truly spectacular sight to behold. They're most commonly visible from Alaska, Canada and Scandinavia.
Loris Paleari/Flickr
The Northern Lights are caused by collisions between electrons from space with oxygen and nitrogen gas in the earth’s atmosphere, according to NASA.
The further north you are in Ohio, the better chance you'll have of seeing these spectacular lights.
Erik Drost/Flickr
If you live in the Cleveland or Toledo area, be on the lookout!
Thursday is likely your best chance of viewing the Northern Lights. Cross your fingers for a clear night, and look to the sky!
Fiona Paton/Flickr

What do you think? Is there a chance you could see them from where you are? Share your thoughts with us!

For more rare natural phenomenons to be on the lookout for this year, check out our previous article: A Christmas Star Will Light Up The Ohio Sky For The First Time In Centuries.

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