Seven facts about how the Northern Lights form and how best to spot them
HANSVILLE, Wash. — The Northern Lights may be putting on an encore performance Saturday night after putting on a minor show Friday night, only this time the display has the potential to be longer and brighter.
A solar flare erupted from the sun on Friday and is zooming across space, forecast to reach Earth Saturday night and forecast to trigger a geomagnetic storm upon arrival.
NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center has issued a Level 3 Geomagnetic Storm Watch on their 5-point scale, indicating a potentially “strong” storm.
“Watches at this level are infrequent, but not uncommon,” SWPC wrote. The solar storm isn’t predicted to reach the jaw-dropping levels of the level 4 and 5 storms in spring last year, but would still likely put on a decent show along the northern tier states as far south as Oregon, Iowa and inland New England.
A double header for the skies over the Seattle area Friday night as the evening began with a brief Northern Lights display, then a fireball streaked across the sky toward dawn.
The timing is even working out well for nighttime viewing in much of the U.S. with peak aurora conditions expected between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m. ET (7-10 p.m. PT)
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Heightened solar activity already brought a minor to moderate show Friday night, with photos of the aurora sent to FOX Weather from Upstate New York and from the northern Puget Sound region near Seattle.
Northern Lights appear over Berkshire, New York on March 21, 2025.
(Brian Donegan / FOX Weather)
Saturday night’s show should be better if the solar forecast holds — and the weather forecast.
Cloud cover forecast for night of March 22, 2025.
Clouds are expected across much of the north Saturday night with Seattle, Minneapolis and northern Maine nearly overcast. Odds are about 50-50 in Chicago and the Great Lakes and across the northern Rockies.
Geomagnetic storms are harmless to human health, but stronger storms can bring communication issues such as radio blackouts and affect satellite operations. Level 3 storms are common enough that they usually pass without incident.
If you want to grab a peek at the aurora, the best viewing advice is to find a dark place away from city lights with a clear view of the northern horizon. In weak to moderate storms, it may be difficult to see the colorful lights with the naked eye or may appear washed out or faint, but using a camera on long exposure will bring out the sky colors more.