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MPR News Staff
St. Paul

Northern lights this weekend? Yes, maybe

The northern lights in the sky.
The northern lights as seen earlier this month in Mille Lacs County, Minn.
Andrew Krueger | MPR News

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Updated 4:35 p.m.

A strong geomagnetic storm will deliver the basic ingredients to produce aurora borealis sightings across Minnesota this weekend. But don’t grab your camera just yet.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has posted a strong storm watch, noting conditions could make northern lights visible as far south as Iowa.

The initial timing of the storm looked extremely promising for the Upper Midwest. By Friday, though, it was a little dimmer, with the storm forecast to peak during mostly daylight hours Saturday afternoon.

The National Weather Service office in Duluth on Friday afternoon tossed a moist blanket on the collective hopes of aurora chasers:

NOAA injected a little hope into the weekend watch. The agency’s most recent forecast has the geomagnetic action still fairly strong — not peak, but not bad — between 7 p.m central time Saturday night to 1 a.m. Sunday morning.

The Twin Cities National Weather Service office pushed the hope meter a little higher later Friday afternoon:

So, maybe. Best to check on updates from NOAA and the local weather service offices in Duluth and the Twin Cities before jumping in the car this weekend to find the lights.