Where to Watch Strong Northern Lights in Upstate New York

The Northern Lights aren't done with New York and will stick around through the rest of the week.

Some lucky area residents woke up this morning to a beautiful sight on the horizon. A rare morning aurora borealis dancing in the early morning sunrise.

Andrew Chin/Getty Images

While not everyone is out and about before 6am, another geomagnetic storm is letting all you Central New York night owls enjoy the show.

The NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center says the latest geomagnetic activity from the past 24 hours was powerful enough to cause blackouts of HF radio communications on the sunlit side of Earth for about an hour.

There were no reported incidents in New York, thankfully.

On a brighter note, this means that the aurora borealis is all for certain overnight, September 12 to 13, and the increased activity could prolong the show into the early weekend hours.

Courtesy NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center

The Geophysical Institute of University of Alaska Fairbanks has a more optimistic forecast for Central New York and says tomorrow night, September 13, will be better.

The institute is calling for high auroral activity tonight and says the view line will extend as low as Boston, Massachusetts, where the Northern lights will be visible low on the horizon.

Tomorrow night, the aurora is expected to be stronger and reach as low as Annapolis, Maryland.

Courtesy Geophysical Institute of UAF

Either way, New York is decisively included in the "view line" for both nights.

So, when will the best time be for catching this beautiful celestial event?

The NOAA says the best time to catch it should be around sunset to about 11pm, but it could linger though the early dawn hours like last night.

Viewing conditions may be slightly better tonight, as it'll be a quarter moon under mostly clear skies.

The National Weather Service is calling for mostly clear skies tomorrow night, but the moon will be even brighter and its light could interfere with viewing the aurora.

And if something happens to obscure your viewing of the Northern lights, this won't be the last time you'll be able to see them.

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