Did You Catch the Northern Lights in Central New York?

Those who were fortunate enough to have partially cloudy skies were able to see the Perseid meteor shower... and the aurora borealis.

For the first time since May, the night sky lit up with dazzling Northern Lights. People across Upstate and Central New York were able to catch the rare celestial event on August 11.

While some areas were again shut out of the show due to rainy weather, other places had just enough clearing to see peeks of bright, dazzling lights.

Over in Verona, resident Robert Wilcox was able to capture numerous photos of the dancing green and purple hues.

For those like me who missed them because of cloud cover, here's what last night's sky looked like.

Wilcox said he needed to adjust his camera's settings in order to snag their brilliance.

However, for those who decided to keep looking up, the lights flared brightly enough to be seen with the naked eye.

Residents in Newport, Little Falls, West Winfield, Holland Patent, and across the Mohawk Valley also reported stunning views.  However, the geomagnetic storm was strong enough to produce auroras across the midwest, throughout New England, and beyond.

For those bummed out that they may have missed their chance to see this rare event, don't worry. New York has plenty more chances to see more in the future.

Read More: 2024 Will Be the Greatest Year for Northern Lights in New York

Right now, the current aurora forecast by NOAA is calling for a slight chance to see some solar activity during the overnight tonight, August 12, but the "view line" only reaches as far as the Northernmost part of New York.

The University of Alaska Fairbanks' Geophysical Institute, which also tracks auroral activity, is also calling for "active auroral displays" during the overnight.

Weather permitting, highly active auroral displays will be visible overhead from Inuvik, Yellowknife, Rankin and Iqaluit to Vancouver, Helena, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Bay City, Toronto, Montpelier, and Charlottetown, and visible low on the horizon from Salem, Boise, Cheyenne, Lincoln, Indianapolis and Annapolis.

With the moon phase at a waxing crescent, this means minimal light pollution to muddy the views.

With the Perseid meteor shower also peaking, which is arguably the best meteor shower of the summer, you might want to do some stargazing tonight because you will definitely see something special.

Also, don't forget, mark your calendars for August 28th when an ultra rare planetary alignment will be visible in the night sky.

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