Northern Lights May Be Visible in 22 States Tonight as a Solar Storm Hits Earth

Where and How to Look

The best chances belong to states near the border: Alaska leads the list, followed by the northern tier from Washington, Idaho and Montana through the Dakotas, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, and east to northern New England. Roughly 22 states sit within or near the forecast view line.

The recipe is the usual one: get away from city lights, find a clear view of the northern horizon, and go out between about 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. local time. A phone camera helps: modern night modes pick up auroral color the naked eye misses, so a long-exposure shot pointed north can reveal a display too faint to see directly.

One Complication in the Sky

The timing has a catch. The night follows a deep partial lunar eclipse on August 27-28, in which the full Sturgeon Moon passed almost entirely through Earth's shadow, a 96.2 percent eclipse visible across four continents. That means a bright waning full moon will be in the sky Friday night, washing out fainter auroral displays. A strong G2 show will punch through the moonlight; a marginal one may not.

Nothing in aurora forecasting is guaranteed: the storm's real strength only becomes clear when the solar material arrives, roughly an hour before the light show, when NOAA's real-time data sharpens. Checking the SWPC aurora dashboard or an app before heading out is the difference between a spectacle and a cold night of nothing.