Will Northern Lights Return To Bergen County In Early April?

NORTH JERSEY, NJ — Those who enjoyed seeing the Northern Lights in New Jersey last October may have kept their eye on apps and forecasts to glimpse the colorful display in the skies again.

Early forecasts brought good news this week. The Aurora app's long-term forecast says that on three dates in April, the Kp — an indicator of auroral strength — may rise as high as 6. The projected dates are April 5, 8, and 9.

The chances of seeing the lights are best with a Kp index of at least 5, the Washington Post wrote in a story about aurora borealis tourism. Last October, the kp hovered between 5 and 8 when the phenomenon was glimpsed in New Jersey.

Some New Jersey residents said they caught glimpses of the lights this past Friday night, posting photos on social media.

So what's going on this coming April?

Forecaster Explains

One forecaster in the Midwest explained this week, "During solar peak (and in the 2-3 years after it), there are high speed solar wind streams that tend to develop around coronal holes on the sun. These can occasionally produce G1 or G2 geomagnetic storms. The solar wind is more likely to produce geomagnetic storms near the equinoxes (March, April, September & October) due to the alignment of earth's magnetic field at this point in our rotation around the sun.

"The Space Weather Prediction Center puts a 27 day forecast out once a week ... The new forecast just came out and it is very impressive as several high solar wind streams are expected to produce G1 and G2 storms in late March and in early April."

But he notes that the forecast will be much more accurate within 72 hours of an event.

On April 7-8 and 8-9, bright moonlight may interfere with the aurora in the northern part of the U.S., but it may be more visible during the overnight of April 4-5.

The 27-day forecasts are here.

"Active to minor to major storm (G1-G2/Minor-Moderate) levels are expected on 04-12 April due to recurrent negative polarity CH HSS effects," the NOAA forecast says.

Get A Photo

To snap a photo of the lights, face north and use a slow shutter speed if you can. Sometimes the display can't be seen with the naked eye, but can be seen when someone turns up the exposure on the photo.

Last year, the National Weather Service in Mt. Holly shared this photo around 7:15 p.m. on Oct. 10. Residents from across the state weighed in with photos they took of the colorful skies.

🤩 Here is our view of the aurora borealis (northern lights from our office around 7:15 PM! What are you seeing at your location? pic.twitter.com/F4DiNKaDsQ
— NWS Mount Holly (@NWS_MountHolly) October 10, 2024

Cloud cover and light pollution can play into the ability to view the lights.

Why So Often?

The display of lights, also called aurora borealis, appeared to the naked eye in Canada and northern parts of the U.S. last year because the sun was at the peak of an 11-year cycle, scientists said.

During this "solar maximum," heightened geomagnetic storming increases the chances of seeing the aurora south of its usual Arctic range.

With more people on social media than back in 2013, and more reading news sites and using apps such as Aurora, the word has been spreading rapidly about the brilliant display, and photographers were posting their images all across social media.

Those who wait all their lives to see the lights were able to head a few hours north to try to take their best shots.

The chances of seeing lights generally increase around the fall equinox, when the sun produces a surplus of geomagnetic storms, almost twice the annual average. This past fall and the coming year should be especially spectacular as Solar Cycle 25 reaches its peak, scientists said.

NOAA predicts the peak will occur from November through March 2026.

See the photos that people captured across New Jersey last October.

Patch Editor Michele Rotuno-Johnson contributed to this story.