Northern Lights May Be Visible Over New York This Week
New Yorkers have a number of chances to see the northern lights from the comfort of home.
Matt Robinson, a photographer and astronomer from the UK living in Norway, shared a video of the northern lights "dancing" in Norway and says the lights are headed to the United States.
This weekend, the Space Weather Prediction Center announced G1 and G2 geomagnetic storm watches from Sunday night through Tuesday night for the Northern Hemisphere. Because of the geomagnetic storm, the northern lights are likely to be seen much further south than normal.
According to Thrillist, with clear conditions, the northern lights will be seen in New York, northern Idaho, northern Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin, Alaska and Canada.
The Space Weather Prediction Center's storm watches doesn't guarantee the northern lights will be seen in the Empire State, but it means the chances of seeing them in New York is greatly increased.
"The SWPC's Forecast projects a minimum of a G1 alert from 8pm on September 28 to 5am on September 29 with a G2 watch from 11pm to 2am. And the G1 window runs from 5pm on September 28 to 2am on September 29," Dustin Nelson wrote in his article for Thrillist.
New York Meteorologist Elyse Smith says the northern lights will look like a "faint green glow in the northern sky." However, clouds will likely block or limit the chance of seeing the northern lights.
To see the northern lights you need clear skies at night and a view of the northern horizon that isn't blocked by trees, hills, buildings, or lights. If you find a good spot, be patient and keep your eyes looking at the northern sky.
Unfortunately for Hudson Valley residents, Hudson Valley Weather says the forecast for the next two days will be mainly cloudy skies, with scattered showers or drizzle.