Northern Lights Forecast: ‘Strong' Storm Could See Aurora In 18 U.S. States This Weekend
Photographic aurora are possible in the U.S. this weekend.
The Northern Lights may be visible on camera — and possibly to the naked eye — in the U.S. as soon as it gets dark on Saturday, June 14, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center, with forecasts including a "strong" geomagnetic storm that could be visible from 18 U.S. states. Solar activity is currently at a 23-year high due to the current solar maximum period.
The latest forecast has a G2 (moderate) geomagnetic storm on June 14. However, NOAA states that there's a slight chance for a G3 (strong) geomagnetic storm — and that's why this forecast is worth knowing about. 'Aurora has been seen as low as Illinois and Oregon (typically 50° geomagnetic latitude),' according to NOAA, though its aurora view line has the phenomenon potentially visible from parts of 18 states.
Parts of U.S. states that could potentially see aurora, according to NOAA, include Washington, northern Oregon, northern Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, northern Iowa, Wisconsin, northern Illinois, northern Indiana, Michigan, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.
Check NOAA's 30-minute forecast or use the Glendale App for up-to-the-minute forecasts.
All forecasts for the Northern Lights must now be viewed with suspicion. Late June is not traditionally considered the aurora-viewing season in the Northern Hemisphere, which is typically thought to be from September to March. That's because there are now so few hours of darkness, with no astronomical darkness around the U.S.-Canada border and farther north. Although aurora can occasionally be seen in deep twilight, the display needs to be strong and the timing of outbursts fortunate.
Breathless forecasts have persisted through April, May, and June, partly due to inexperienced reporters and partly because the current solar maximum is experiencing repeated heightened activity from the sun.
It's best to think of the Northern Lights in June as a photographic opportunity. Although you may see some structure with the naked eye, having a mirrorless or DSLR camera is the way to go — though newer models of flagship smartphones also do an excellent job of capturing aurora.
If your smartphone has a 'Night Mode' feature, that should be good enough to get a more than impressive souvenir shot of the aurora. It likely means a long exposure of between five and 10 seconds, which will look much better if you do three things:
The Northern Lights are caused by the solar wind, a stream of charged particles from the sun interacting with Earth's magnetic field. Although the magnetic field deflects much of it, some charged particles accelerate along the magnetic field lines toward the polar regions, where they collide with oxygen and nitrogen atoms, exciting them and causing them to release energy as light.
The forecast takes into account the effect of a coronal mass ejection — a burst of charged particles from the sun traveling through space and striking Earth's magnetosphere — on June 8. A coronal hole in the sun is also causing a high-speed, turbulent solar wind.
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
27 minutes ago
- CBS News
Fire on River Plaza Drive in Sacramento knocks out power to nearby businesses
A grass fire in Sacramento knocked out power to several businesses on Saturday, the Sacramento Fire Department said. There was a 1-acre grass fire near River Plaza Drive, the fire department said. Vice Mayor Karina Talamantes said the Fire Department stated that the grass fire was near a power pole, and it caused damage to the power lines. Per our Sacramento Fire Department: There was a one acre grass fire that damaged power lines causing an outage to... Posted by Vice Mayor Karina Talamantes on Saturday, June 21, 2025 Power may not be restored until about 8 p.m., Talamantes said. Some of the affected businesses include Chevy's, Crawdads and other nearby businesses.
Washington Post
30 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Lexi Thompson has a top and a shank to start windy third round at Women's PGA with triple bogey
FRISCO, Texas — Lexi Thompson nearly got blown over to start the third round of the KMPG Women's PGA Championship, with a top and a shank on the way to a triple bogey on the opening hole in windy conditions Saturday. After hitting her tee shot into the fairway on the 517-yard par-5 first hole, a 207-yard drive into wind gusting to around 30 mph, Thompson topped her second shot that went only 117 yards. She indicated to her caddie that the wind knocked her out of balance.
Yahoo
37 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Mild May wraps up otherwise warm spring in Illinois
Despite milder May temperatures, the spring season was still a top-10 warmest on record in many places in the Midwest, including in St. Louis, Peoria, and Paducah, according to Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford at the Prairie Research Institute. The first four months of 2025 collectively were just under 1 degree warmer than normal statewide. May temperatures varied within 1 degree of normal statewide, with periods of much warmer and much cooler weather during the month. March temperatures were 4 to 8 degrees above normal, and April temperatures were 1 to 3 degrees above normal. In recent years, early spring warmth has pushed spring phenology ahead of normal, increasing the risk of frost or freeze damage to tender perennials and horticultural crops. However, a colder winter this year helped extend dormancy a bit later, resulting in a timely spring phenology and good prospects for fruit and berry crops this year. May average temperatures ranged from the mid-50s in northern Illinois to the high 60s in southern Illinois. Several stations saw their first 90-plus degree temperatures, including a daily record-breaking 94 degrees at Chicago's O'Hare Airport on May 15. Meanwhile, the state was largely spared a late spring freeze in May, with only a handful of stations experiencing temperatures below 40 degrees. Overall, the preliminary statewide average May temperature was 63.0 degrees, 0.2 degrees below the 1991-2020 average and the 58th warmest on record. While last month's precipitation was typically variable across Illinois, May was overall drier in most places. The preliminary statewide average total May precipitation was 3.75 inches, 1.02 inches below the 1991-2020 average and the 55th driest on record statewide. May precipitation ranged from around 2 inches in the Chicagoland area to nearly 8 inches in far southern Illinois. Most areas south of Interstate 70 were near to slightly wetter than normal, while most of northern and central Illinois were 1 to 3 inches drier than normal. Spring precipitation ranged from around 6 inches in far northern Illinois to over 20 inches in southern Illinois. The northern half of the state was 1 to 2 inches drier than normal, while southern Illinois was 2 to 8 inches wetter than normal. It was the fourth wettest spring on record in Salem and the fifth wettest spring in Centralia. May was very active on the severe weather front. The NOAA Storm Prediction Center listed 23 tornado reports, 92 severe wind reports, and 61 severe hail reports in Illinois. Among these include an EF-4 tornado in Williamson County, and 2-inch hail in Morgan and Sangamon Counties. Illinois set a new statewide tornado record in 2024, but is ahead of this time last year on statewide tornadoes, with 105 reports total. Outlooks June is the start of climatological summer and is an exciting month for many reasons. Warm weather is here, and schools are out. The Climate Prediction Center's June outlook shows the best chances of summer starting a bit on the warm side, with the best chance of near-normal precipitation and maybe a continued wetter trend in southern Illinois. The summer season outlooks (June through August) also show higher chances of above-normal temperatures this summer. For precipitation, Illinois is squeezed between a band of expected drier-than-normal conditions to the west and wetter conditions to the east. That often, but not always, corresponds with active stormy weather in the summer. For more information about monthly Illinois weather summaries, current conditions, and climate, visit the Illinois State Climatologist website. Data are provisional and may change slightly over time. The Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign provides scientific expertise and transformative research to the people of Illinois and beyond. PRI is home to the five state scientific surveys: the Illinois Natural History Survey, Illinois State Archaeological Survey, Illinois State Geological Survey, Illinois State Water Survey, and Illinois Sustainable Technology Center.
