Northern Lights are coming – how to see them in Leelanau

July Northern Lights over Sleeping Bear Bay by Ethan Honke

USA Today shares the early buzz around the possibility of a northern lights outburst like we saw in April next Wednesday & Thursday, July 12 & 13:

“Auroral activity will be high(+). Weather permitting, highly active auroral displays will be visible overhead from Inuvik, Yellowknife, Rankin and Iqaluit to Vancouver, Helena, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Bay City (Bay City is south of us!), Toronto, Montpelier, and Charlottetown, and visible low on the horizon from Salem, Boise, Cheyenne, Lincoln, Indianapolis and Annapolis,” the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute’s forecast stated.

To that end, we’ve prepared a list of 5 simple tips that can increase your chances of seeing the northern lights.

1. Get an Aurora app for your phone. Seriously – apps that give you a live “Kp” of the level of geomagnetic disturbance in a range of 0 (calm) to 9 with 5 or more indicating a geomagnetic storm are the best innovation out there. I like MyAurora Pro, but here’s a great list of Northern Lights apps.

2. Sign up for Space Weather Alerts from the NOAA NWS Space Weather Prediction Center. You can set the level (4 or 5 is typically our bottom threshold for seeing them in Leelanau).

3. Unleash your inner Night Owl. Northern lights typically ebb & flow, so if there’s a high probability and you have a vantage where you can quickly see activity, check on it every so often, particularly between peak aurora hours of 10pm – 2am.

4. Know where to go! When you do get alerted, you have a much better chance of seeing the lights if you can see the northern horizon. Leelanau’s western & northern shore is great, and if you can get on a high enough hill, that’s a good second choice.

5. Use the Buddy System. Find friends who are also interested in seeing the Aurora & make a pact to call/text each other when you see the lights, even if it’s really late. You can tap into a great virtual group too with the 9,000 member Northern Lights/Skies Of Leelanau County & North West Michigan group. Even if you don’t see them, you’ll see some amazing pics!!

Ethan took this photo last July in Glen Arbor. View & purchase lots more shots of the aurora and all kinds of Leelanau goodness on his website. & also the Captures by Ethan Facebook where there’s some juicy fireworks shots as well!

Get all kinds of northern lights info & photos from Leelanau.com.