by Collin Rogers | News Channel 3
Tue, April 15th 2025 at 6:02 PM
Terry Kilgore captured this image on the northern lights from Kent County during a significant geomagnetic storm in mid-May, 2024. The northern lights may become visible more faintly on the northern horizon Tuesday night. (Terry Kilgore/WWMT)
KALAMAZOO, Mich. — The northern lights may become visible in West Michigan late Tuesday night through early Wednesday morning.
Forecasters at the Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) have issued a G3 (strong) geomagnetic storm Watch.
Watches at this level are infrequent, but not uncommon.
The northern lights occur when highly-charged particles of energy burst from the sun in what is called a coronal mass ejection, or CME.
When these particles collide with Earth’s magnetic field, electrons in the upper atmosphere respond by releasing light.
A CME is expected to reach and impact Earth at some point Tuesday night.
A more exact estimate of arrival normally only has about a 30-minute lead time. The SWPC homepage offers their aurora forecast, which gives the most up to the minute look at when activity may be spiking.
According to the SWPC, limited and minor effects to some technological infrastructure is possible, but most is mitigatable.
A lot has to go right for a vibrant aurora display in West Michigan, so it’s always best to keep your expectations low.
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Skies are expected to clear up overnight, which will make for good viewing conditions.
The best way to catch a glimpse of the northern lights is by using night mode on your smartphone or by taking a long exposure photo.
If you capture any photos of the northern lights, make sure to send them to our Chime In page. They may be featured on-air or online.
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