Northern lights visible in Pittsburgh area

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The northern lights were on display in the Pittsburgh area on Friday.

People throughout southwestern Pennsylvania got a look at the breathtaking views that come with the northern lights. Viewers from Allegheny, Washington, Armstrong, Beaver, Greene and Butler counties sent in photos of their incredible views.

The light show started just after 10 p.m. on Friday, with green, purple, red and pink tints visible in the sky. It was a rare show for those who saw it on Friday.

People in southwestern Pennsylvania saw the lights because of the largest geomagnetic storm in 21 years, making the aurora borealis visible on Friday. The clear skies also allowed onlookers to see the lights.

Several coronal mass ejections (CMEs), sometimes called "solar flares," erupted in the Sun's upper atmosphere. This sends charged particles toward Earth. When these particles interact with our atmosphere, the northern lights occur.

Radio transmissions and satellite navigation may have been disrupted during the event, CBS News reported .