If a trip to Iceland isn’t in the cards for you anytime soon, it’s a good thing you don’t have to travel all the way there to see the Northern Lights. Instead, you might be able to catch them in your backyard!
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) aurora forecast, some states may be in view line of some geomagnetic activity happening tonight.
This online forecast uses the OVATION model, measuring Kp (geomagnetic activity) between 6pm and 6am US Central Time to predict the likelihood of aurora and its intensity and location.
According to the key, the areas of red are the most intense likelihood of aurora, then green. Although tonight’s forecast doesn’t show the state of New York in the most intense area of Northern Lights activity, it’s still within the view line (representing the southern-most locations in range to view the phenomenon), making it possible for New Yorkers to catch glimpses of the aurora on the northern horizon tonight.
In fact, the Northern Lights can be seen up to 1,000 km (621 mi) away if conditions are good and the aurora is strong. Prime conditions include dark and clear skies, with little light pollution. That’s what made seeing the Northern Lights in NYC back in October so exciting even with the city’s light pollution.
Other states in possible view line of tonight’s activity are Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.
Northern Lights are best viewed just after sunset or before sunrise. In NYC, the sun will set at approximately 7:24pm tonight and rise tomorrow morning at 6:33am.
If you’re interested in looking at a short term forecast, NOAA also has map views for a 30-minute forecast. These predictions are based on the next 30 to 90 minutes from the time the viewer opens the page.
NOAA’s forecast is always updating so be sure to keep checking throughout the day how it changes.
For those Upstate, we wish you the best of luck. For us here in the city, we can only hope another opportunity of intense geomagnetic activity will bring the view line down to include us.