Photos: Northern Lights color the skies above Eastern Iowa

Solar storms made the colorful northern lights visible as far south as Kansas and Texas in the U.S. this week

Nov. 13, 2025 3:14 pm

The colors of the northern lights, or aurora borealis, are seen in the sky over rural Benton County west of Norway on Tuesday. According to NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center, a strong solar flare was spotted on the sun, sparking a severe-level storm watch for Earth. The lights were visible Tuesday an Wednesday nights throughout Iowa. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

The colors of the northern lights, or aurora borealis, are seen in the sky to the north of the Fort Atkinson Bridge in Fort Atkinson on Wednesday. According to NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center, a strong solar flare was spotted on the sun, sparking a severe-level storm watch for Earth. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

A passing vehicle’s headlights illuminate a tree and the St. John's German Lutheran Church, also known as the "Old Stone Church” as the colors of the northern lights, or aurora borealis, are seen to the north of the ruin in Ridgeway on Wednesday. According to NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center, a strong solar flare was spotted on the sun, sparking a severe-level storm watch for Earth. The sun is at the maximum phase of its 11-year activity cycle, making auroras more common and widespread. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

A longer timed exposure mixes the colors of the northern lights, or aurora borealis, in the sky above and north of St. John's German Lutheran Church, also known as the "Old Stone Church” in Ridgeway on Wednesday. A strong solar flare was spotted on the sun, sparking a severe-level storm watch for Earth. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

The colors of the northern lights, or aurora borealis, are seen in the sky over rural Benton County west of Norway on Tuesday. According to NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center, a strong solar flare was spotted on the sun, sparking a severe-level storm watch for Earth. The lights were visible as far south as Kansas and Texas. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)