Minnesotans could see the northern lights this week

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesotans might have a chance to see the northern lights on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.

It's all thanks to the eruption of solar gases, which can trigger a geomagnetic storm. Energetic, electrically charged particles enter the earth's atmosphere, lighting up the sky with brilliant shades of green, red and blue.

The light show could stretch all the way from New York to Oregon. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center, the southern-most viewing opportunity lies just south of the Minnesota-Iowa border.

Though the aurora has the potential to be visible pretty far south, it's not a guarantee, mostly due to the cloud cover on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. Around 11 p.m. on Tuesday — just after the moon sets — much of the state will see clouds overhead, especially in central Minnesota. Areas to the north, like Fargo, Bemidji and Grand Marais however, have a cloud coverage forecast of 30% or less.

The forecast looks better on Wednesday though, and areas like Bemidji, Marshall and Worthington should be mostly clear.

Skies will be slightly hazy throughout the day due to wildfire smoke from Canada. WCCO Meteorologist Mike Augustyniak says that areas north of Interstate 94 could see some high-level wildfire smoke over the next two days, but the impact won't be major. It'll just add some more light pollution to darker areas.

To have the greatest chance at viewing the phenomenon, move far from higher-populated areas and have a clear view to the north. The very best viewing would be in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, officially recognized as the closest International Dark Sky Sanctuary.

Still, space-weather forecasting is difficult, meaning there is uncertainty in the forecast. The sun is 91 million miles away and solar wind takes 80 to 90 hours to reach the Earth, which is why accurate aurora forecasts are hard to make beyond two to three days. It also means that if the forecasted solar wind speed is off by only 1% to 2%, the time of arrival at Earth will be 1 to 2 hours different.

Learn more about forecasting atmospheric weather here .

Note: The above video first aired on May 14, 2024.