After strong showing Sunday, Alaskans could see more aurora activity Monday night

Sky watchers across much of Alaska could catch a glimpse of the northern lights overnight Monday and early Tuesday, if the weather cooperates.

The aurora borealis will be active over a broad swath of the state, according to a forecast by the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Auroral displays should be visible overhead from Utqiagvik to Anchorage and Juneau, the forecast says. The aurora could also be visible low on the horizon in the areas from King Salmon in Southwest Alaska to Prince Rupert, British Columbia.

Auroral activity in Alaska was high overnight Sunday and early Monday, and many people were able to snap photos and videos of the dancing lights around the state.

Although the Anchorage weather forecast calls for increasing clouds starting Monday night into Tuesday, there’s a chance people in Southcentral Alaska could get lucky with clear enough skies to catch the auroras again. Brandon Lawson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said there’s a low pressure system moving over the Gulf of Alaska, but that it will push east and out of the Anchorage forecast area overnight.

Additionally, there’s a weather front that will lift into Southcentral Alaska overnight Monday and early Tuesday morning, Lawson said. The ability to see the aurora will depend on that front’s arrival and when the clouds move in, he said.

As of Monday afternoon, Lawson said it appears sky conditions are expected to deteriorate more during the early morning hours on Tuesday, around 4 am. to 7 a.m. Depending on the arrival of those clouds, Lawson said it looks like the Anchorage area and up into the Mat-Su region could get lucky with some clear skies.

Don Hampton, a research associate professor at the Geophysical Institute, said Alaskans are likely to see something in the way of the aurora Monday night, though he noted the amount time for overnight viewing is getting shorter as the state moves into spring.

Hampton said Alaskans can expect strong aurora viewing over the next couple of years in general, as the sun goes through a cycle that happens every 11 years in which it experiences more sun spots and more chaotic output of solar wind. That solar wind carries with it a very large magnetic field, Hampton said, which is an important factor in producing the aurora.