Let There Be Lights: How to See the Aurora Borealis Tonight

The sky could put on quite a show tonight, but you'll have to drive to see it.

May 10, 2024

The Northern Lights were visible over Denver and Boulder on May 10. NWS Boulder

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After Friday night's show and last night's cloud cover, you might, just might, still be able to catch the Northern Lights tonight. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center, the solar storm will continue into tomorrow.

The center is predicting that a "severe geomagnetic storm watch" could "supercharge" the Northern Lights in the area. It certainly happened Friday night.

"The brightness and location of the aurora is typically shown as a green oval centered on Earth’s magnetic pole," reports the center. "The green ovals turn red when the aurora is forecasted to be more intense. Aurora can often be observed somewhere on Earth from just after sunset or just before sunrise. The aurora is not visible during daylight hours. The aurora does not need to be directly overhead but can be observed from as much as 1000 km away when the aurora is bright and if conditions are right."

click to enlarge

The chances of catching the Northern Lights will be dimmer on May 12.

NOAA

On Friday night, people all over the metro area saw the Northern Lights. But early Saturday, 9News's Chris Bianchi, our 2024 Best of Denver weathercaster, warned that clouds would obscure that night's viewing options. "If you're hoping to catch the northern lights tonight...you're gonna have to trek north. Clouds will be a bigger issue tonight than last night," he said.

Followers who headed north into Wyoming were not disappointed, he reported on X.

Now, for a third night, you've got a chance to catch the Northern Lights...but while the skies have cleared over Denver, the odds are growing dimmer as the solar storm moves to the north. Find updated information here.

Did you get photos of Friday's display? If so, we'd like to share them! Send photos to [email protected].

click to enlarge

On the road to Cheyenne on May 10.

Hannah Henderson

Patricia Calhoun is editor-in-chief of Westword, the alt-weekly she co-founded in September 1977. She’s been inducted into the Colorado Press Association Hall of Fame, the Association of Alternative Newsmedia Hall of Fame and the Colorado Restaurant Association Hall of Fame. She’s also received dozens of local, state and national awards for writing, including first place for feature writing and first place for column writing with the Society of Professional Journalists. Patricia is a weekly commentator on Colorado Inside Out, PBS 12's public affairs roundtable, which has won two Emmys.

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