CALIFORNIA (FOX26) — Parts of California could see the Northern Lights this week, according to NOAA.

NOAA says material is traveling toward Earth and is expected to arrive as early as this morning through Thursday afternoon and will continue for some time until all the material has passed through.

Space weather forecasters at NOAA have issued a severe geomagnetic storm warning for Thursday through Friday.

NOAA says that when materials are about 1 million miles from Earth, time and intensity can be measured in more detail by satellites.

Scientists say that when a coronal mass ejection occurs, a lot of solar material is blown into space, and when it hits Earth, it interacts with the magnetic field, mainly at the north and south poles.

This creates the northern lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis.

Visibility depends on how strong the emission is, with locations at lower latitudes able to see the lights if the emission is stronger.