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

Geomagnetic storms occur when charged particles from the sun collide with Earth’s atmosphere, creating auroras.

The sun has burped out bursts of energy called coronal mass ejections that could reach Earth Tuesday night. Forecasters said the vibrant displays could be visible across much of the northern U.S.

Solar storms are ranked G1 to G5, weak to strong, and according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, it was a G4 category storm that helped get the northern lights visible in Arizona. In fact, the northern lights weren’t forecasted to be visible in Arizona.

Geomagnetic storm activity is expected to continue this week, but will Nashville catch a second glimpse of the northern lights? Here's what to know.

Coloradans were treated to spectacular aurora views on Tuesday night. Another show is possible tonight as more solar material interacts with Earth's magnetosphere.