Northern Lights Forecast: Over 20 States Could See Aurora Borealis Wednesday

BreakingBusinessNorthern Lights Forecast: Over 20 States Could See Aurora Borealis WednesdayByAntonio Pequeño IV,Forbes Staff. Pequeño is a breaking news reporter who covers tech and more.Follow AuthorApr 20, 2026, 08:01pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.ToplineNorthern lights observers in 24 states have a shot at seeing the natural phenomenon Monday night, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which provided a favorable aurora forecast for states closest to the northern U.S. border.Northern lights in Alaska.Photo by Hasan Akbas/Anadolu via Getty ImagesKey FactsA Kp index of four was issued for Monday night, meaning NOAA is expecting auroral activity that can be “quite pleasing to look at” for viewers in the right regions.The curved viewing line for Wednesday stretches as far south as southern Iowa, with chances of seeing the aurora borealis increasing the farther north observers are of the line.Tuesday’s viewing line remains the same, though the likelihood of aurora is forecast to dramatically decrease. 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 = docum...