Northern Lights Tonight: 14 States May See Aurora After Coronal Mass Ejection
The Northern Lights may be visible in the U.S. overnight on Tuesday and Wednesday as a coronal mass ejection travels towards Earth to cause a geomagnetic storm, according to the latest forecast by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center. It follows several displays of aurora in northern U.S. states in recent weeks.
NOAA's three-day forecast includes a minor geomagnetic storm, measured at a value of G1 on a scale of G1 to G5. According to NOAA's forecast, the Kp index — which provides a rough guide to the intensity of aurora displays — may reach 5.
When To See The Northern Lights Tonight
The G1 geomagnetic storm is set to peak between 11:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 1 and 5:00 a.m. on Wednesday, July 2. This forecast — which is subject to change — means the geomagnetic storm will coincide with the limited hours of darkness in all U.S. time zones.
'A G1 (Minor) geomagnetic storm watch has been issued for 02 Jul (UTC day) due to the arrival of a CME that left the Sun on 28 Jun,' stated NOAA on X (Twitter). A coronal mass ejection is a cloud of super-charged particles released by the sun. The timing agrees with a NASA model. Professional aurora chaser Vincent Ledvina described it on X (Twitter) as 'not too crazy, but something to keep an eye on.'
NOAA's aurora viewline forecast for the early hours of July 2, 2025.
Where To See The Northern Lights
NOAA's aurora viewlines indicate potential aurora displays are possible in northern U.S. states and Canada. U.S. states that may see aurora include (northerly parts of) Washington, northern Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. In the U.S., regions close to the Canadian border will have the highest chance.
However, limited darkness at these latitudes may reduce visibility, despite the aurora potential. The recent solstice means it doesn't get completely dark at night in late June near the U.S.-Canada border — and not at all in Alaska.
On Tuesday, the moon — in its waxing crescent phase — will be 43%-lit, so aurora chasers will also have to contend with some natural light pollution.
What Happened To 'Solar Maximum'
The Northern Lights are caused by the solar wind, a stream of charged particles from the sun interacting with Earth's magnetic field. 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 sun has an 11-year cycle during which its magnetic activity — and its propensity to produce solar flares and CMEs — peaks and troughs. The solar maximum period may be coming to an end, with the number of sunspots on the sun — which indicates how magnetically active it is — dropping off in June.
That could indicate that the sun is now past just the solar maximum phase (though sunspot numbers can fluctuate). However, the best aurora displays often occur in the few years after solar maximum. If the current solar cycle does have a long tail, good aurora sightings in the U.S. could result for a few years.
An aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, is seen in the night sky in the early morning ... More hours of Monday, April 24, 2023, near Washtucna, Wash. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
When The Northern Lights Are Most Common
March-April and September-October are the most geomagnetically active months of the year, with geomagnetic disturbances twice as likely in spring (and also in fall) as in winter and summer. They tend to be strongest a week or two after the equinoxes (Sept. 22, 2025, and March 20, 2026).
Earth's axis tilts by 23.5 degrees, which is why we have seasons. It also puts Earth perpendicular to the sun at the equinox. Since the solar wind's magnetic field is facing southward relative to the Earth, during the equinox, the geometry more easily allows charged particles from the sun to be accelerated down the field lines of the Earth's magnetic field.
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
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