The sun is currently throwing a massive temper tantrum. That sounds dramatic, but if you've been seeing those neon pink and lime green streaks across your social media feed lately, you know exactly what I’m talking about. We are currently approaching the "Solar Maximum." This is the peak of the sun's 11-year cycle, a period where solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) become way more frequent. Because of this, the northern lights may be visible in U.S. states that usually only see cornfields or city skylines, not the Aurora Borealis.
It’s a weird feeling. You’re standing in a suburban backyard in Ohio or Iowa, looking at a sky that should be orange-ish from the streetlights, and suddenly everything turns a hazy violet.
Most people think you have to book a $4,000 trip to Fairbanks, Alaska, or a glass igloo in Finland to see this. You don't. Not right now. When the sun spits out a cloud of charged particles and those particles hit Earth's magnetic field, it creates a geomagnetic storm. If that storm is strong enough—specifically if it hits a G3 or G4 rating on the Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) scale—the "auroral oval" stretches. It reaches down. It pulls those lights right over the Lower 48.
The science of why the northern lights may be visible in U.S. territory soon
Everything depends on the Kp-index. Think of the Kp-index as a scale from 0 to 9 that measures how "disturbed" the Earth's magnetic field is. If it's a Kp-1, you’re seeing nothing unless you’re an owl in the Arctic Circle. But when we hit Kp-7 or higher? That is when the northern lights may be visible in U.S. regions as far south as Alabama or Northern California.
It happened in May 2024. That was a "historic" G5 storm. People in the Florida Keys were taking photos of red auroras. Red is rare. It happens higher up in the atmosphere when solar particles collide with oxygen at lower pressures. Usually, we see green because that’s the reaction happening closer to the ground.
You have to understand the Sun’s "active regions." These are spots on the sun—basically giant magnets—that get tangled up. When they snap, they launch a CME. It takes about one to three days for that plasma to travel 93 million miles to hit us. So, when NASA or the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) sees a big flare, we get a 48-hour heads-up. That is your window to start gasping at the weather app and checking your gas tank.
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Where to actually look if you’re in the Lower 48
Location is everything. If you are standing under a streetlamp in downtown Chicago, you aren't seeing anything. Period. Light pollution is the "aurora killer."
To see if the northern lights may be visible in U.S. locations near you, you need to find a "Dark Sky" map. You want to get away from the light domes of cities. Most people make the mistake of looking straight up. Unless the storm is massive, you actually want to look at the northern horizon. It often looks like a faint, glowing fog at first. A lot of people see it and think, "Oh, that’s just a cloud" or "Maybe that’s the glow from the next town over."
Wait. Watch it for five minutes. If it starts to pulse or shift shape, that’s it.
The best states for this are usually the "Border States." Think Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Maine. But during these solar peaks, the "mid-latitudes" get lucky. We’re talking about the tier of states including Oregon, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. Honestly, if the Kp-index hits 8, everyone should be outside looking up.
The Camera Trick (Don't trust your eyes immediately)
Here is a secret: your phone is better at seeing the aurora than your eyes are. Human eyes are pretty bad at seeing color in the dark; we see in grayscale when lights are dim. This is why the aurora often looks like a "milky" white cloud to the naked eye.
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But your smartphone camera? It has a "Night Mode." If you point your phone North and take a 3-to-5-second long exposure, the sensor will soak up all those photons. Suddenly, that "white cloud" on your screen turns bright green or vivid pink. Once you see it on the screen, your eyes often "tune in" and start seeing the color better.
Predicting the "Unpredictable"
The NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center is the gold standard here. They issue "Geomagnetic Storm Watches."
A "Watch" means the conditions are favorable. It’s like a tornado watch—the ingredients are in the kitchen, but the cake isn't baked yet. A "Warning" means it’s happening.
I’ve spent nights sitting in a cold field in Michigan because the "data" looked good, only to see absolutely nothing because the "Bz" (the direction of the magnetic field) stayed northward. If the Bz points North, it’s like two magnets repelling each other; the solar energy just slides off Earth's shield. If the Bz flips South? The door opens. The energy pours in. That’s when the show starts. You can track this in real-time using apps like "Aurora Forecast" or "My Aurora Forecast & Alerts." They’ll tell you the "Probability of Overhead Aurora" based on your exact GPS coordinates.
Common misconceptions about the Northern Lights
People think it has to be cold to see them. It doesn't. The sun doesn't care if it's 80 degrees in July or -20 in January. The only reason we associate auroras with winter is that the nights are longer, providing more dark hours to see the glow.
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Another big one: "It looks just like the professional photos." Honestly? Usually not. Those high-end photos are often long exposures that make the lights look like neon lasers. In reality, unless it’s a severe storm, the movement is slow. It’s graceful. It’s like a curtain swaying in a very light breeze. It’s subtle, until it isn't. When a "substorm" hits, the lights can dance so fast you can't keep up, but those moments are usually brief.
How to prepare for the next big solar hit
If you want to be ready the next time the northern lights may be visible in U.S. skies, you need a plan. Don't wait until the news tells you "it's happening now" because by then, the peak might have passed.
- Find your dark spot now. Go to a site like LightPollutionMap.info. Find a park or a pull-off that has a clear, unobstructed view of the Northern horizon. No trees, no hills in the way.
- Download a space weather app. Set your notifications for a Kp-index of 5 or higher.
- Learn your camera settings. Practice taking "Night Mode" photos of the stars. If you have a DSLR, set your ISO to 1600 or 3200, open your aperture as wide as it goes (f/2.8 is great), and set a shutter speed of about 5 to 10 seconds.
- Check the moon phase. A full moon is like a giant lightbulb in the sky. It washes out the aurora. The best viewing happens during a New Moon or when the moon has already set.
- Watch the "Dashboard." The NOAA 30-Minute Forecast is the most accurate tool we have. It shows a map of where the green ring is currently sitting. If that ring is touching your state, get out of the house.
We are currently in a "Golden Age" for aurora chasing in the United States. This peak in solar activity won't last forever. By 2028 or 2029, the sun will start to quiet down again, and the northern lights will retreat back to the poles. The next two years are your best shot at seeing this without needing a passport.
The key is patience. You might sit in the dark for three hours and see nothing. Then, in the span of ten minutes, the sky rips open. It's a waiting game played with the stars. Pack a thermos, grab a heavy blanket, and keep your eyes on the North. The sun is busy right now, and it’s sending us a show.