How To See The Northern Lights Over Wisconsin Tonight

MILWAUKEE, WI - The northern lights will be visible in the skies of Wisconsin tonight.

The Space Weather Prediction Center predicts a G1 geomagnetic storm will arrive Nov. 9-10, meaning the Aurora Borealis may be visible at high altitudes in the U.S., including in Wisconsin
The best chance to see them is the night of Nov. 9 from 4-7 p.m. and from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. (Nov. 10).

Now, seeing the Northern Lights is much more common in northern Wisconsin, but it's not unheard of for them to be spotted in some of the outlying areas in Milwaukee, Racine and Waukesha Counties.

It also largely depends on the weather. The next two nights are a toss-up, with partly cloudy skies predicted over the metro Milwaukee area.

NOAA Forecast for S.E. Wisconsin:

This Afternoon

Scattered snow showers, mainly after 4 p.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 33. Breezy, with a west wind around 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Tonight

A 40 percent chance of snow showers, mainly before 3 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 21. Windy, with a west wind 15 to 25 mph, with gusts as high as 45 mph

The bright dancing lights of the aurora are actually collisions between electrically charged particles from the sun that enter the earth's atmosphere. The lights are seen above the magnetic poles of the northern and southern hemispheres.

They are known as 'Aurora borealis' in the north and 'Aurora Australis' in the south. Auroral displays appear in many colors although pale green and pink are the most common. Shades of red, yellow, green, blue, and violet have been reported.

The lights appear in many forms from patches or scattered clouds of light to streamers, arcs, rippling curtains or shooting rays that light up the sky with an eerie glow.

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