The U.S. saw vivid northern lights as far south as Florida

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Geomagnetic storms brought the northern lights to much of the U.S. on Tuesday night, painting the sky in vibrant hues of green and pink.

The Aurora Borealis was spotted in a large swath of states, including Idaho , Iowa , Missouri , New Mexico , New York , Oklahoma , South Dakota , Tennessee , Texas and Washington state. Northern lights were visible as far south as parts of Florida and Alabama , a relatively rare occurrence that highlights the severity of this week's storms.

"Well, we had activity tonight — a lot of geomagnetic storm activity," Shawn Dahl, service coordinator at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center, said in a video on X .

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