The Northern Lights Could Be Visible In The U.S. This Week

Seeing the Northern Lights is something many people dream of doing in their lifetime. It’s a bucket list item, but it can be hard to achieve. Getting to a place where the Northern Lights are visible can take traveling and planning for those in the United States.

That might change this week though!

According to a forecast from the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, on Thursday, July 13th, “active auroral displays” could be visible low on the horizon in areas like Great Falls, Montana; Pierre, South Dakota; Madison, Wisconsin; Lansing, Michigan; and Portland, Maine.

In an interview with Business Insider, Daniel Verscharen with the University College London said that the lights aren’t usually visible until around midnight, but it is “worth stepping outside around midnight local time during the night from Thursday into Friday if you live at northern latitudes and if the sky is clear.”

It may just be a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the Northern Lights without traveling too far north!

To have the best chance of seeing the Northern Lights from the Northern U.S. states, you can check the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s space weather website to see what the forecast looks like for your specific area.

If there’s a chance your area will have Northern Lights visibility and clear skies, then head out to a spot away from light pollution. The best visibility for the Northern Lights is usually around midnight.

If you go through the effort on a clear night to see the Northern Lights and still can’t spot them, you might be able to see some stellar stars instead!