NORTHERN LIGHTS FORECAST MINNESOTA DOWNLOAD

You can see how they move across the sky and they’ll possibly show vivid colors like yellow, bluish, or purple tones. KP 4 to 6: The Northern Lights are active. The predominant color is green, and they are most visible in the northern sky at high latitudes. KP 1 to 3: Auroras are usually quiet and faint. KP is just an indicator, but in most situations:

The higher the KP-index the more likely you are to see a big Northern Lights display at a high latitude.įor example, with a KP 3, you’re very likely to see the Northern Lights in Iceland, but if you want to see the Northern Lights in England, the data says that you’ll need a KP 5 or higher.

The higher the KP-index the further south you can see the Northern Lights.

The KP-index has a range of 0-9, and, generally speaking, has the following implications for the Northern Lights forecast:

Here you can learn a little more about what causes the northern lights. This Aurora forecast indicator (known as “planetary K-index”), is simply a scale to measure the geomagnetic activity that is directly related to Northern Lights visibility. The KP index is the most common way to forecast the Northern Lights, and you can use it both for short-term and long-term Aurora prediction.

In the Northern Lights forecast, there are three main indicators for tracking the Aurora: For your best chance, find an area, like the top of a hill, where you can have unobstructed sky views to the north.Now, let’s learn to read the Aurora forecast and the Northern Lights maps so you can predict the Northern Lights in real-time. It’s worth noting that it’s only possible to see the Northern Lights when the sky is clear, and they’re not competing with ambient city lights. It can help spell out when the show might take place, if at all.

NORTHERN LIGHTS FORECAST MINNESOTA DOWNLOAD

It’s a good idea to download a mobile app, like Northern Light Aurora Forecast, to get a better idea of the likelihood of seeing the Northern Lights in your area. They’re only going to get better and more frequent in the coming years, although they are also more active around the fall and spring equinoxes. In the years closest to solar maximum (slated to happen in 2024), the shows are more frequent, energetic, and colorful (whereas they’re more lethargic in the years near solar minimum). There’s an 11-year cycle that has historically predicted when the lights would be most visible. It’s the same process at work in neon signs.Įven if you don’t get to see the kaleidoscopic illuminations this time, your chances will only improve over the next few years.

When the particles mix with oxygen, green and red lights appear they glow blue and purple when they join with nitrogen. As those elements meet the Earth’s magnetic field, they’re attracted to the poles, where they excite and mix with the gases in our atmosphere. The aurora borealis is caused when the sun shoots electrically charged protons and electrons toward the Earth during a solar storm. What causes the Northern Lights-and when might we see them again? However, it’s more probable that if the dancing display happens in the continental U.S., it’ll be seen in the northern parts of Washington, Montana, the Dakotas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Maine. That means the Northern Lights could be visible as far south as Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and all of the Northeastern states. It also means that there’s a larger swath of the hemisphere that could potentially see the aurora.įor October 1 and 2, that number is six (and a five on September 30 and October 3). The higher the number is, the better the probability the nighttime spectacle will occur. Scientists at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute rank the probability of seeing the aurora borealis on a scale of zero to nine, which is called the Kp Index. Three weeks ago, the Northern Lights, a phenomenon that sees ethereal streamers of colored light pirouette across the night sky, made a rare appearance in the Lower 48, coloring the skies in places like Wisconsin and Michigan.įor those who missed it, fear not, as you may have another chance to see the illusive aurora borealis in the Lower 48 this weekend.

Northern lights forecast minnesota