Just one month after the northern lights put on a stunning display over the continental United States, the aurora borealis will make a return to Canada and the northern U.S. Saturday and Sunday night—after a second, rare government warning of a geomagnetic storm—though the light show won’t be as far-reaching as last month.
After putting on a show in Oregon last month, the northern lights are expected to be visible ... [+]
NOAA issued an alert on Friday, warning a geomagnetic storm could disrupt communications again due to “moderately intense” disturbances to the Earth’s magnetic field, while allowing the lights to return.
Solar activity has been unusually busy in recent months as the sun’s 11-year solar cycle approaches its anticipated peak in July 2025, with sunspots expected to intensify over the next year, likely triggering more geomagnetic storms.
Following a flare-up in solar activity and a NOAA alert last month—the agency’s first in nearly 20 years—NOAA issued another alert on Friday, warning a geomagnetic storm could disrupt communications again due to “moderately intense” disturbances to the Earth’s magnetic field, while allowing the lights to return.
The so-called view line—the southern point where scientists expect the lights to be visible—is forecasted to shift south Sunday night, giving residents along the U.S.-Canada border a better chance of catching the aurora borealis, depending on cloud coverage.
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The lights, typically best viewed around the Arctic Circle between September and May, will likely be visible throughout most of Canada Saturday night from British Columbia to northern Ontario, Quebec and Labrador, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
There will also be a small likelihood of viewing the lights in the northern U.S. Saturday night, including Alaska, Washington, northern Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and northern Maine. The best place to view the lights on Sunday will be Alaska, where scientists expect residents to have a strong chance of visibility.
The best time to watch the lights is between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m., when geomagnetic activity increases and the aurora borealis is most powerful.
The northern lights will be visible across Canada, Alaska and along parts of the U.S.-Canada border ... [+]
Clouds. Forecasters with the National Weather Service predict parts of the Pacific Northwest, northern New England and Upstate New York to be covered by overcast skies Saturday night, with a 100% chance of sky cover over Buffalo around 11 p.m., a 72% chance of cloud cover in northern Washington at the same time, and a 77% chance in northern Maine. The odds of viewing the northern lights improve throughout the night in the Pacific Northwest, with the chance of sky cover falling to 50% in northern Washington by 2 a.m. Sunday morning (65% chance at 5 a.m.), while overcast skies are expected to thicken in northern New England throughout the night, reaching a 75% chance in northern Maine at 2 a.m. (84% chance at 5 a.m.).
The northern lights dazzled stargazers in the U.S. and Canada last month, the result of a “severe” geomagnetic storm that rendered what NOAA described as an “unusual and potentially historic event.” For several nights, the lights flashed shades of purple, green and blue over northern California, the Great Lakes, New York, New England and down to the Carolinas and Alabama. Just days later, NOAA scientists predicted the lights could make a return later in May and into June, following a solar flare even larger than the one that triggered the first northern lights, while also threatening to disrupt satellite communications.