The aurora borealis, also known as the Northern Lights, could be visible in the night sky across a large part of the United States on Sunday and Monday nights due to a rare geomagnetic storm.

"The aurora may become visible over much of the northern half of the country, and maybe as far south as Alabama to Northern California'" the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center said.

The center detected a "powerful coronal mass ejection," or CME, from the sun on Friday night.

That triggered an ageomagnetic storm watch, considered a rare severe G4 on NOAA's five-tier scale.

"The CME is anticipated to arrive at Earth later on Sunday," the Space Weather Prediction Center said. "The CME arrival will likely lead to immediate geomagnetic disturbances with the potential for G3 (Strong) levels, and a chance for G4. Conditions will likely intensify as CME progression continues and G4 levels become more possible on Monday."

Geomagnetic storms are caused by explosions on the sun. They can lead bright colors glowing in the sky -- a phenomenon that's technically called the aurora borealis but more commonly known as the Northern Lights.

Wide areas of the United States, including New Jersey, were treated to a dazzling display of the Northern Lights with another G4 geomagnetic storm in October.

Weather experts say the storm could be strong enough to disrupt some communications satellites and parts of the power grid, though some uncertainty on the intensity remains.

"Timing and intensity are more uncertain," the Space Weather Prediction Center said. "These watches represent potential based on our best analyses. We will not know the true nature of this CME's geomagnetic storm potential until the CME arrives at our solar wind observatories located 1 million miles from Earth."