A solar storm forecast for Thursday is expected to give skygazers in 17 American states a chance to glimpse the Northern Lights, the colorful sky show that happens when solar wind hits the atmosphere.
The Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks has forecast auroral activity on Thursday in Alaska, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Indiana, Maine and Maryland.
How are they making predictions five days in advance when all the public info I've been able to obtain from NWS only goes out three days and is usually not very accurate?
Reality also seems to be pointing to "meh". The current forecast shows a very slight rise in about 24 hours when the Kp index might get up to around 4. I don't think that's enough to make visible auroras even from Southern Canada, let alone reaching down into the US.