Northern Lights Forecast: 17 States May See Aurora Borealis Thursday Night

BreakingBusinessNorthern Lights Forecast: 17 States May See Aurora Borealis Thursday NightByAntonio Pequeño IV,Forbes Staff. Pequeño is a breaking news reporter who covers tech and more.Follow AuthorJun 04, 2026, 01:54pm EDTToplineThe northern lights have a much higher than usual chance to make an appearance Wednesday night in parts of the U.S., according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which forecast mild auroral activity along the northern U.S. border.UNITED STATES - 2015/08/26: Northern lights over Frederick Sound in Southeast Alaska, USA. (Photo by Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images)LightRocket via Getty ImagesKey FactsA Kp index of seven was issued by NOAA for Thursday night, meaning the “aurora will move even further from the poles and will become quite bright and active.”NOAA has not forecast any geomagnetic storm impacts, which can contribute to stronger auroral displays.Observers will have a far less favorable chance at seeing the northern lights Friday, which has a forecast Kp index of four. if (!window.cnxel) { window.cnxel = {}; window.cnxel.cmd = []; var iframe = document.createElement('iframe'); iframe.style.display = 'none'; iframe.onload = function() { var iframeDoc = iframe.contentWindow.document; var script = iframeDoc.createElement('script'); script.src = '//cd.elements.video/player.js?cid=62cec241-7d09-4462-afc2-f72f8d8ef40a'; script.setAttribute('defer', '1'); script.setAttribute('type', 'text/javascript'); iframeDoc.body.appendChild(script); }; document.head.appendChild(iframe); const preloadResourcesEndpoint = 'https://cds.elements.video/a/preload-resources-ovp.json'; fetch(preloadResourcesEndpoint, { priority: 'low' }) .then(response => { if (!response.ok) { throw new Error('Network response was not ok', preloadResourcesEndpoint); } return response.json(); }) .then(data => { const cssUrl = data.css; const cssUrlLink = document.createElement('link'); cssUrlLink.rel = 'stylesheet'; cssUrlLink.href = cssUrl; cs...