Northern lights may visit Michiana again this weekend

 

2024 has been a banner year for viewing the Northern Lights, with multiple spectacular displays visible in portions of Michiana already this year.

This upcoming weekend could add even more to the celestial bounty.

The Space Weather Prediction Center has two G3 Watches out for this weekend, one for tonight and one for Saturday night. A G3 geomagnetic storm is typically the strength needed to get the aurora borealis to be visible in Michiana.

However, predicting just how strong these storms will be and the exact timing of said storm(s) is extremely difficult and finicky. As of Friday evening, current forecast trends seem to point to Saturday night’s geomagnetic storm as the potentially stronger one.

That fact could literally change by the minute, as was the case in May when the aurora was visible as far south as Florida. What looked like a decent chance to view the Northern Lights turned into the aurora sighting of a lifetime, including for yours truly.

We’ll hope for continued clear skies and enough darkness to get another taste of aurora awesomeness!