Rare Northern Lights visible in Northern California and Alaska during recent geomagnetic storm.

The aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, was visible in parts of Northern California on Thursday night due to a geomagnetic storm caused by the sun throwing off extra charged particles in the solar winds. The event was classified as a G4 on a scale from G1 to G5, and was visible as far south as Alabama. While light pollution and cloud cover made the lights hard to see, footage captured near Mount Shasta showed shimmery streaks moving in the opposite direction of the clouds. The event was rare for Northern California, and impressed skywatchers and astronomers alike.