Northern lights could be visible in Michigan on Saturday night, if weather permits

The northern lights phenomenon could make an appearance in Michigan on Saturday night — that is, should the weather permit it.

According to the University of Alaska Fairbanks' Geophysical Institute's aurora forecast, there will be high aurora activity on Saturday night, and the aurora borealis could be seen “overhead from Inuvik, Yellowknife, Rankin and Iqaluit, to Portland (Ore.), Cheyenne, Lincoln, Springfield, and New York City, and visible low on the horizon as far south as Carson City, Oklahoma City, and Raleigh.”

This means the northern part of the state, along the coast of Lake Michigan, has a prime opportunity to witness the auroras. But there's a catch.

The visibility of the northern lights is determined by the strength of solar winds, according to Sabrina Jauernic, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Gaylord, and the conditions there are just right to bring the auroras to northern Michigan. But cloud coverage across Michigan and moisture coming from the south and northwest care likely to block the northern lights from view, Jauernic said.

Jauernic said if lookers are able to see the lights, it would occur in a “narrow window” from about 4 a.m. until 6 a.m. overnight into Sunday morning.

For more information, visit the Geophysical Institute aurora forecast.