Aurora Borealis Tonight Over Much of Northern US

The Aurora Borealis can be seen over Northern Europe on Tuesday night because of a solar storm hitting the Earth. People in Scotland, Ireland, Norway, Finland, and Sweden said they could see the Northern Lights. (RAIGO PAJULA/AFP/Getty Images)

Aurora Borealis tonight: Long Island and parts of the northeastern United States could get a rare glimpse of the Aurora Borealis on Saturday night.

A solar flare, or coronal mass ejection, that was sent out Thursday is hitting the Earth on Saturday evening, according to Accuweather.com. The flare will reach the planet at around 8 p.m.

Radiation from the flare might cause radio wave disturbances to electronics such as GPS devices, cell phones, radios, and others.

Accuweather said the flare will cause the northern lights possibly in New York, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Washington state, and possibly in Kansas, Pennsylvania, and Iowa. Other reports said that they might appear over New Jersey and Oregon.

And in Europe, the Aurora Borealis might be visible in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, and the United Kingdom. Residents in northern Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia might also be able to see it.

Patch.com reported that Long Island and New York City are in “good” position to see the northern lights. However, in brightly lit areas, the Aurora Borealis is more difficult to see.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Thursday’s solar flare was the largest this year, causing a brief radio blackout for NASA.

Gary Szatkowski, meteorologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told StarDem.com that the geomagnetic storm will likely not cause a significant display of the Aurora Borealis.

“We are seeing only moderate storm activity right now,” he said. “The rating for these storms is G1-G5, with G1 being the lowest.”