Where Can You See Northern Lights Over Michigan Wednesday?

You may be able to see the northern lights over parts of Michigan tonight, but you’ll want to hop in your car and head north to get a glimpse of what can be a spectacular sky show.

The Space Weather Prediction says chances for the aurora borealis sky show are moderate, which can translate to a small chance of seeing them low on the horizon in Detroit.

But here’s the problem: The National Weather Service calls for cloudy skies, a 70 percent chance of precipitation and maybe even a thunderstorm or two Wednesday night.

But clearer skies are forecast toward around Traverse City, Gaylord, the Mackinac area and the Upper Peninsula, Heather Orow, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service office in White Lake, told the Detroit Free Press.

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• See ‘Lady Aurora’s’ Best Dance Moves: Northern Lights in Michigan

The dancing northern lights occur when charged particles from the sun strike atoms in Earth's atmosphere,causing electrons in the atoms to move to a higher-energy state, according to EarthSky.org.

When the electrons drop back to their lower energy state, they release light that creates the shimmering northern lights.

Photo: Bidwan Baruah, special to Patch, Lake Huron at St. Ignace, MI, around 1 a.m. Sept. 3, 201