Epic dog sled ride under the northern lights in Alaska
The northern lights were seen during this night dog sled ride in Fairbanks, Alaska.
More than a dozen states along the northern contiguous U.S. could catch a glimpse of the northern lights this weekend.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center’s northern lights forecast for Friday, Jan. 16, shows a chance of seeing the aurora coast-to-coast from Washington to Maine. The latest projected view line extends as far south as Iowa.
The K-index — a scale that measures how far away from the poles the northern lights could be visible — is predicted as a 5 out of 9 for Jan. 16, which indicates a brighter aurora, per NOAA.
On another geomagnetic storm scale, NOAA ranks the event a G1, which is considered a minor event.
The northern lights are a natural phenomenon formally known as the aurora borealis. It can project colorful lights in the night sky thanks to an interaction between the sun’s plasma and Earth’s magnetic field, according to the National Weather Service.
When could the northern lights be visible?
The aurora is not visible during daylight hours.
The best view of the northern lights is generally within an hour or two of midnight or just after sunset and just before sunrise, according to NOAA.
Where could the northern lights be visible?
About 15 states are partially or fully within NOAA’s forecasted “view line” for the northern lights on Friday, Jan. 16.
The view line indicates the southernmost point where the aurora could be seen on the northern horizon.
However, the forecast is only a prediction — the aurora can be seen further under bright conditions, according to NOAA.
The following states could catch a glimpse of the aurora, according to NOAA’s forecasted view line:
- Alaska
- Idaho
- Iowa
- Maine
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Montana
- New Hampshire
- New York
- North Dakota
- South Dakota
- Vermont
- Wyoming
- Washington
- Wisconsin
Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. She can be reached at melina.khan@usatoday.com.