Topline
The northern lights will be more visible than previously expected Sunday night, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's updated space weather forecast, as minor geomagnetic storm effects could lead to more aurora activity across the northern United States.
Forecasters at NOAA predict a Kp index of five out of nine, meaning a potentially “brighter” aurora with “more auroral activity (motion and formations).”
A G1-level geomagnetic storm could affect Earth’s magnetic field, forecasters said, due to the impacts of coronal hole high speed streams—solar winds that escape from ”cooler, less dense” regions of the sun.
The aurora could be viewable in states along the U.S.-Canadian border, according to NOAA. These include all of North Dakota and Minnesota, along with nearly all of Wisconsin, most of Michigan, South Dakota, Montana and Washington. The Northern Idaho panhandle could also see auroral activity, as well as northeastern Wyoming and northern Iowa. On the East Coast, the northern lights could be visible in northern Upstate New York, northern Vermont, northern New Hampshire and northern Maine. Additionally, the aurora could appear over Alaska, with a large portion of the state within the “high likelihood” range to see the lights Sunday, according to NOAA.
Prospective northern lights viewers should move away from bright city lights and toward the Earth’s magnetic north pole. Viewers should also seek a vantage point with an “unobstructed view toward the north,” NOAA forecasters say. The northern lights are most active within two hours before and after midnight, according to NOAA. Lights could still be present before and after this time period, though they may be less appealing.