The northern lights were visible Tuesday night across the Chicago area, illuminating the sky with brightly colorful displays due to severe solar storms.

Northern Lights may dazzle again tonight as a severe geomagnetic storm reaches peak intensity across regions. Follow live.

Over the past few days, an active sunspot has erupted multiple times, sending clouds of high-energy plasma into space. The sunspot happens to be facing Earth just now, so the plasma clouds are heading in our direction.

The last in a series of three coronal mass ejections hit Earth on Wednesday, so experts are keeping an eye on geomagnetic storm potential

Millions across the U.S. and Europe witnessed rare, colorful displays of the northern lights on Tuesday and Wednesday after three bursts of plasma from the Sun triggered a powerful geomagnetic storm.

The predicted speed of the third coronal mass ejection in the series was the highest he'd ever seen: about 870 miles per second. Conde said that although the best auroras were forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday, the lights could continue to shine for the next few days.

Experts at NOAA recommend prospective aurora viewers travel north, towards the Earth’s magnetic north pole. They should position themselves on a vantage point with a clear view towards the north, and away from bright city lights. The aurora is most active in the hours around midnight, so viewers should plan to watch between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m.

A severe geomagnetic storm is possible starting Tuesday evening, and the clouds in Minnesota could cooperate to see the northern lights overhead.