Though some in the Midwest got to see the northern lights phenomenon earlier this year thanks to a historic geomagnetic storm, another forecasted storm could bring sights of the aurora borealis back to the Chicago area.
The strong geomagnetic storm is expected to light up the night sky with another display of Northern Lights tonight into early Monday morning.
The view line is nearly as far as south as the big geomagnetic storm we had in May. As long as you’re away from city lights, it’s worth a shot to take a look tonight.
It takes 20 to 30 minutes for our eyes to fully adjust to the dark sky, so try to get away from city lights and avoid looking at your phone so your eyes can adjust.
Keep in mind the Northern Lights always look brighter and more vibrant in photos than with the naked eye.
Longer exposure in photos allows more light into the image; even if it’s just a 3-second exposure on a phone.
So when do we look and what’s the weather tonight?
We’ll have partly cloudy skies and some high clouds tonight so hopefully it’s clear enough where you are. Temperatures will be comfortably in the mid 60s.
NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center latest Aurora forecast has the geomagnetic storm starting around 1am. Theses forecasts are far from perfect and may still change, so it’s still worth a shot to look if you’re up late tonight.
However, you may have better luck if you wake up early Monday. It is possible the peak of geomagnetic storm occurs after sunrise for us. Even if that happens, we could still see some auroras.
Here’s NOAA’s latest geomagnetic storm forecast for Monday morning:
1 a.m. – 4 a.m.: G1 storm
4 a.m. – 7 a.m.: G3 storm
7 a.m. – 10 a.m.: G2 storm
Sunrise is around 6:33 a.m. so the best time to view is before 6am.
Getting a view of the northern lights is never a guarantee and auroras can vary by the minute. It’s definitely worth looking up tonight!