Severe solar storms on Tuesday brought colorful northern lights displays to parts of the United States, with some Floridians able to witness the rare phenomenon.

Viewers sent in images of the auroras from locations around Florida, including Homosassa and Wimauma.

“The aurora borealis is nicknamed the northern lights for a reason…you typically see them in the north! It is rare to see them in the United States at all, let alone in the Tampa Bay area, and it takes a very strong solar storm that starts on the surface of the sun,” said Max Defender 8 Meteorologist Amanda Holly.

The light displays are more common and widespread because the sun is at the maximum phase of its 11-year activity cycle.

Holly explained that solar storms send charged particles into the solar system, and when those particles enter Earth’s atmosphere, they light up in different colors. The particles are funneled by Earth’s magnetic field toward the north and south poles, requiring a potent solar storm to cause a “severe geomagnetic storm” that allows northern lights to be seen this far south.

While the geomagnetic storm was expected to continue, forecasters predicted it would not be as powerful as Tuesday night, dropping from G4 (severe) to G3 (strong) category.

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