A rare celestial treat is making a grand return to the New York skies.

The coldest weather of the year has finally ended, meaning stargazers can safely venture outdoors to observe one of the most beautiful nighttime displays.

The Northern Lights are expected to appear in the New York skies both today, January 23, and tomorrow, January 24.

Courtesy of NOAA
Courtesy of NOAA
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Thursday's show is expected to be a little more grand, based on the Space Weather Prediction Center's forecast.

The Current Forecast for Northern Lights in New York

A "moderate aurora" is anticipated Thursday night, with Upstate New York included within the model's "view line."

This is due to a M 3.3 flare that erupted from the sun on Tuesday, which ejected aurora-making CMEs toward Earth.

Noel_Bauza from pixabay
Noel_Bauza from pixabay
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This powerful solar flare is anticipated to keep producing aurora-making activity well into the weekend, according to NOAA's forecast.

The University of Alaska's Fairbanks Geophysical Institute also forecasted for favorable auroral activity on Thursday night into Friday morning.

In fact, they find Friday night to be the big event - which differs from NOAA's predictions.

"High aurora activity forecasted. If skies are clear, highly active auroral displays may be visible overhead," the institute said, adding auroras may be visible as low as Boston and Chicago.

Based on their timeline, the best time for New York to see the auroras will be on Friday night starting at 10pm through 3am, Saturday morning,

Northern Lights in Norway
Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images
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Also giving us a boost is the current moon phase during this time, which will be in its last quarter, which means there will be less light to obscure the view to these potential auroras.

It should be noted that while conditions are favorable that we will see something gorgeous in the night sky through the weekend, this auroral activity is not close to the dazzling displays that happened nationwide in May and October.

Read More: Spectacular Northern Lights in New York and Beyond

It is unknown if New York will be able to experience powerful auroras like that again, since Solar Cycle 25 reached its peak in October. That is why last year was full of opportunities to catch the celestial event.

What the Weather Will Be Like When the Auroras Are in New York

The National Weather Service Binghamton is calling for clouds in the night sky. Here's what to expect during the dark hours.

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Canva
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Tonight: A chance of snow showers, mainly after 4am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 12.
Friday Night: A chance of snow showers before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 7.
Saturday Night: A slight chance of snow showers after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 20.
Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 16.

Here's to hoping the forecast changes or we see enough breaks in the cloud cover to enjoy one of nature's finest shows.

Northern Lights Dazzle Over New York State

Gallery Credit: Clay Moden

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