Northern Lights expected to light up the skies across Canada on Sunday night

A phenomena normally only seen in Northern Canada will be lighting the skies up across most of Southern Canada tonight into tomorrow morning. A geomagnetic storm will bring the Northern Lights as far south as Southwestern Ontario and even the upper United States.

To see the Northern Lights you’ll need to find a dark area away from light pollution so it’s unlikely you’ll see the Northern Lights if you’re in an urban area. The weather will also need to cooperate with a nice clear sky and little to no clouds in sight.

The best time to view the Northern Lights will be between just after sunset to 2am EDT or between 2am EDT to just before sunrise. Of course, this will vary by location as cloud cover may affect the timeline that you’ll be able to view the Northern Lights.

Here’s the best viewing location by province:

Alberta - Area south of Edmonton will offer the best viewing with little clouds as areas north of Edmonton will be dealing with some cloudy skies during the overnight hours.

British Columbia - Vancouver Island and along the coast will offer the best viewing as smoke from wildfires in the interior will make viewing the Northern Lights almost impossible.

Manitoba - Almost all of the province will be dealing with some cloudy skies during the overnight hours, but there might be some opportunity for clearing in the Northern Interlake region.

New Brunswick - Most of the province should be good for Northern Lights viewing, but there’s some indications that the southwestern portion of the province may be dealing with variable cloudiness.

Newfoundland and Labrador - Most of the province should be good for Northern Lights viewing with the exception of Northern Labrador and Western Newfoundland.

Nova Scotia - Most of the province should be good for Northern Lights viewing, but there’s some indications that the southern portion of the province may be dealing with variable cloudiness.

Ontario - Northeastern and parts of Southern Ontario will offer will offer the best viewing with little clouds.

Prince Edward Island - The whole province should be good for Northern Lights viewing.

Quebec - The Central part of Quebec will offer the best viewing with little clouds.

Saskatchewan - Area south of Prince Albert will offer the best viewing with little clouds as areas north of Prince Albert will be dealing with some cloudy skies during the overnight hours.

If you manage to get photos of the Northern Lights tonight we would love to see them! Tweet them to us with the handle @InstantWxCanada or on Facebook Messenger with the handle @InstantWeatherCanada.

- IWC (Brennen P.)

P.S. Photo courtesy of Harry Schut, FotoSchut Photography taken May 27/17