(Radio Iowa) – For Iowans who long to watch the fascinating swirls of green and purple waves of light in the sky, tonight (Wednesday) will likely be your best opportunity. A powerful solar flare is expected to push the famed Northern Lights further south into Iowa for a rare view. Meteorologist Andy Ervin, at the National Weather Service bureau in Davenport, says a storm front is forecast to arrive tomorrow (Thursday).

Locations from Washington state to Maine may be seeing the lights each of the next three nights, but clouds are expected over Iowa both Thursday and Friday nights. Ervin says if you can carve out a little time tonight to gaze skyward at the celestial spectacle, do.

A longtime Quad Cities resident, Ervin says he’s seen the Northern Lights before.

The Space Weather Prediction Center in Colorado says the geomagnetic storm will peak late tonight into early Thursday. The solar flare was recorded on Monday.