The northern lights could be visible in upstate New York near the Canadian border on Tuesday night, according to space weather predictions.
The aurora borealis is notoriously difficult to predict, and its intensity can vary depending on several different factors. Anyone hoping to catch the stunning lights will need to be far from any city lights and avoid cloud cover.
Aurora watchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center forecast the northern lights could be visible in areas north of Syracuse across lightly populated northern New York.
Watertown, Potsdam, Lake Placid and Plattsburgh were all within the potential aurora viewing area, according to the Space Weather Prediction Center. The northern lights could also be seen in Burlington, Vt. and northern Maine.
The aurora may also be visible in the same areas on Wednesday night. However, predicting the northern lights can be a fickle effort, as their dazzling displays depend on how and when geomagnetic storms from the sun strike Earth’s atmosphere.
Several other states are in the potential viewing area for the northern lights on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Alaska, Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan residents could also catch the aurora.
