There's a chance you could see the northern lights in Minnesota this weekend

MINNEAPOLIS — The northern lights are expected to be dancing overhead again this weekend, and Minnesotans have a chance to see them.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has issued a strong geomagnetic storm watch for the weekend, meaning Minnesotans could see the northern lights on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings. The greatest chance of seeing the lights is on Saturday night.

However, clouds move into northern and central Minnesota on Saturday night, which could block the view.

On Friday, the southernmost viewing opportunities lies just south of the Minnesota-Iowa border, while on Saturday it stretches down further south near Missouri, giving Twin Cities residents a greater chance of seeing the lights.

Northern lights are caused by the eruption of solar gases, which can trigger a geomagnetic storm. Energetic, electrically charged particles enter the earth's atmosphere, interacting with the magnetic field and lighting up the sky with brilliant shades of green, red and blue.

To have the greatest chance at viewing the phenomenon, move far from higher-populated areas and have a clear view to the north. In Minnesota, the best viewing spot would be the Boundary Waters, which is officially recognized as the closest International Dark Sky Sanctuary.

However, space-weather forecasting can be 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 originally aired on Aug. 12, 2024.