A stunning video shared Saturday showed aurora borealis over North Dakota as it “danced” next to a supercell storm cloud.
The enchanting footage shows the aurora borealis (Northern Lights) floating low over North Dakota, further south than the light show normally comes, according to AccuWeather. And it just so happened to coincide with the development of a “lightning-filled supercell” storm system that hovered just underneath, painting the sky with whites and greens and blues.
A captivating and rare sight in North Dakota this week as an aurora danced next to a lightning-filled supercell, putting on a spectacular light show in the sky. pic.twitter.com/5yL4MBJTFB
— AccuWeather (@accuweather) July 29, 2023
At the same time, you can clearly see a slew of meteors skimming over the skies as the Southern Delta Aquarids and Alpha Capricornids meteor showers rumble over America. The aurora joined the party as 2023’s year of extremely heightened geomagnetic storms really took hold, bringing the light show far enough south to be seen across 17 states, USA Today reported in mid-July.
Forecasts actually said the lights might not be powerful enough to hit North Dakota, but clearly our cosmos had other plans. (RELATED: The Truth Behind A Solar Storm Apocalypse Conspiracy Theory Is Kinda Scary)
Our closest star, the Sun, is in the throes of the solar maximum period of its 11-year cycle. During years like this, the Sun’s energy goes from a chill lil chihuahua to a pit bull on meth. Our current solar maximum wasn’t supposed to hit until 2025, but I guess it heard we have an election cycle starting, so it decided to come early and watch the show.