By Phil Helsel -
NBC News
Many people in America looking to the sky this Halloween weekend will be able to have a gift.
The northern lights may be visible in Washington state, the Far Northeast and the Midwest thanks to a solar flare and a coronal mass ejection, authorities reported Friday.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued a G3 "geomagnetic storm watch" - or strong - for Saturday and Sunday.
The agency's Space Weather Prediction Center said the coronal mass ejection is expected to hit Earth on Saturday, and the effects are likely to continue through Sunday.
The meteorologists crossed their fingers that the sky was clear.
Forecast conditions in
Seattle
for Saturday night were "optimal" for seeing the lights.
Most of
Montana is also
expected to be clear.
Meteorologists in
Gaylord,
Michigan,
said it would rain on Friday night, but there would be a chance to see them the following night.
The National Weather Service in Milwaukee predicted a "possible ghostly green glow" that could be visible as early as 5:00 pm (although the best chance will be later in the evening).
Minneapolis and St. Paul in Minnesota could fill up with clouds.
Even in
Houston there
was talk of the Northern Lights, but the warning was for those "heading north well."
[Scientists first observe a huge 'space hurricane' over Earth]
The aurora borealis, commonly known as 'aurora borealis' in the Northern Hemisphere, is created when charged particles from the sun interact with Earth's magnetic field and atmosphere.
The Northern Lights are over the North Pole, and the Southern Lights are over the South.
An aurora borealis appears in the sky on January 8, 2017 near Ester Dome Mountain, west of Fairbanks, Alaska.Lance King / Getty Images
About three weeks ago, the Northern Lights were visible in Minnesota, Alaska, and Washington, and parts of Canada, due to a G2, or moderate, event.
This weekend's event is not expected to cause technological disruptions, the space weather prediction center said.
The coronal mass ejection occurred around 11:30 a.m. (Eastern Time) Thursday, and it exited the sun at about 604 miles per second, the center said.
NASA said it was an "X1-class flare," and its Solar Dynamics Observatory captured an image of the bright flash.