Overview
- NOAA forecast active to G1 (Minor) geomagnetic storming for the overnight period from Saturday into Sunday, June 13–14, following a CME detected June 11 that arrived at Earth early on June 13.
- Official Kp guidance in forecasts put values near 4.6 for late Friday night and about 5.6 in the early hours of Saturday, levels that can bring visible aurora to the far northern U.S. under the right conditions.
- The best chance for sightings is along the U.S.–Canada border and across much of Alaska, with good prospects in northern Washington, Idaho, Montana, the Dakotas, Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
- Forecasters warn the outlook can change quickly because two additional CMEs and the interplanetary magnetic field’s Bz direction will determine whether displays strengthen, shift south, or fade, so real-time solar-wind feeds and NOAA’s 30-minute aurora map are recommended.
- Practical viewing tips include looking north from dark, high, low-light sites between about 10 p.m. and 2 a.m., using long exposures to capture faint color, and taking advantage of the new-moon conditions on June 14 that reduce moonlight but not the short nights near the solstice.