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(NEXSTAR) – Sure, you may be hoping to see fireworks or a drone show over the July 4 weekend, but nature may be gearing up to give you its own colorful nighttime display.
Forecasters say some may have the chance to see the northern lights on Friday.
NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) has been watching two major sunspot groups this week. One spot sparked a solar flare reaching X1 strength, Shawn Dahl, a service coordinator with the SWPC, said in a Tuesday update. “X” is the highest classification available for solar flares, but “1” is the weakest level in that tier.
“[It was a] rather impulsive event, meaning it was fairly quick, it didn’t last very long, but clearly a lot of energy there,” Dahl explained. At the time, it wasn’t yet clear whether the coronal mass ejection (CME) believed to be associated with the activity was coming toward Earth.
On Wednesday, the SWPC confirmed the CME is likely to impact us and spark “increased geomagnetic activity.”
If conditions are right, mainly “the orientation of the embedded magnetic field,” the SWPC says there is a potential for moderate geomagnetic storming conditions. If that is the case, some could see the northern lights on the eve of Independence Day.
Who could see the northern lights on July 3?
If conditions are as strong as the SWPC is forecasting, those in the northern U.S. could catch a glimmer of the aurora.
Moderate, or G2, level geomagnetic storms are capable of bringing the northern lights “as low as New York and Idaho,” the SWPC explains.
That means those living in all or parts of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, and Maine could see the northern lights with a storm of this strength. (Technically, Alaska falls into this category as well, but the state almost always has at least a slim chance of seeing the northern lights.)
Forecasting from the University of Alaska Fairbanks suggests those living slightly further south — Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts — could also see the northern lights on their northern horizon.
The northern lights fill the sky behind the Saint Joseph the Woodworker Shrine, Nov. 11, 2025, near Valley Falls, Kansas. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File) Whether the aurora is visible anywhere depends on timing as well. If the strongest geomagnetic storming happens before the sun has set, the celestial show will be outshone.
Unfortunately, it looks like that could happen for at least part of Friday. The SWPC predicts conditions could start to strengthen at around 2 a.m. EDT and continue through the day. By about sunset, the activity may still be strong enough to spark the northern lights for a few hours.
It’s also possible that the conditions we need to see the northern lights don’t perfectly materialize. You can view the latest forecasting from the SWPC on its website.
Should they shine, you can improve your odds of seeing the aurora by looking to the northern horizon. If you have trouble seeing the lights, try using your phone. New digital cameras have lenses that are more sensitive to light than our eyes, so they are better at capturing those green, pink, and red hues.
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