Upgraded ‘Severe’ Northern Lights Alert For 24 States Monday After Solar Flare

ByJamie Carter,

Senior Contributor.

Update, Jan. 19, 2026: NOAA’s aurora viewline for overnight on Monday, Jan. 19, through Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026, was added along with news that a G4 geomagnetic storm could ensure. Keep an eye on my feed for the latest on this geomagnetic storm.

The Northern Lights may be seen from as many as 24 U.S. states down to mid-latitudes — such as Oregon, Illinois and Pennsylvania — overnight on Monday, Jan. 19, through Tuesday, Jan. 20, according to a forecast by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center. Here’s how to take great Northern Lights photos with a phone.

The forecast is for a “strong” G3 or possibly a “severe” G4 geomagnetic storm on NOAA’s five-level Space Weather Scale, as a “full halo CME” — an Earth-directed coronal mass ejection — interacts with Earth’s magnetic field.