Some states along the Canadian border may be able to see aurora borealis on Thursday, as high-speed winds from a spot on the sun’s surface could impact the Earth’s magnetic field, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The aurora borealis fills the sky with pink and blue waves of color over a farmhouse in Mercer, ... [+]
NOAA forecast a Kp index of four on a scale of nine for Thursday, meaning the northern lights will be more active and be “quite pleasing to look at” for those in the right areas.
The agency said a coronal hole high-speed stream—winds from a cooler, less dense area on the sun’s surface—will likely result in a geomagnetic storm later Thursday, an event that could disturb Earth’s magnetic field and pull the northern lights further south, according to NOAA’s three-day forecast.
Thursday night’s forecast is expected to upgrade to a Kp index of six, NOAA said, indicating auroral activity will move further from the poles and become “quite bright and active.”
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Northern Canada and Alaska will have the highest chance of seeing the northern lights, but the view line—marking a minimal opportunity to see the phenomenon—crosses below the Canadian border. Areas in northeastern Washington, northern Montana, North Dakota, northern Minnesota and Upper Michigan will have a low likelihood, while parts of northern Idaho, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Maine have an even lower chance. (See view line below.)
Thursday night's view line.
NOAA recommends traveling to a high vantage point away from light pollution between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. local time.
Photographers told National Geographic that wide-angle lenses, an aperture or F-stop of four or less and a focus set to the farthest possible setting are recommended for capturing the northern lights. If using a smartphone, it’s recommended to turn on night mode and disable flash.
Electrons from solar events like solar flares and coronal mass ejections intersect with molecules and atoms of nitrogen and oxygen in the Earth’s atmosphere, causing them to become “excited” before producing the colorful displays of aurora borealis. Activity on the sun’s surface reached a “solar maximum” in October 2024, marking an increase in solar events that will likely persist into early 2026, according to NASA. Aurora borealis displays achieved a 500-year peak in 2024, the agency said, as the strongest geomagnetic storm in the last two decades affected Earth last May, pulling the northern lights as far south as Texas and northern Florida.