Northern lights maps predict where you may see them in Michigan on Saturday, Sunday

If clouds cooperate, there’s a chance the northern lights could be visible again Saturday and Sunday nights in metro Detroit. The geomagnetic storm’s colors dazzled Michigan skies, including in the southern part of the state, Friday night.

While Michiganders are used to the northern lights, which are also called the aurora borealis, occasionally appearing in northern Michigan, the metro Detroit sighting was a treat. The National Weather Service called Friday’s storm severe.

And there could be a repeat this weekend. NWS maps predicting the intensity and location of the northern lights Saturday and Sunday show the aurora will be visible in mid to northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula.

The green oval on the map indicates where the lights will be visible and the oval turns red where they are forecasted to be more intense. Most of the included Michigan areas are in the green oval, but some parts of the Upper Peninsula are in the red.

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The NWS also said the aurora doesn’t have to be directly above an area for it to be visible and can be observed more than 600 miles away when the aurora is bright and weather conditions are right. So, even though the aurora won’t be directly over metro Detroit either night, it’s definitely possible it will be visible in the region.

However, both Saturday and Sunday are predicted to be mostly cloudy with showers and isolated thunderstorms. From 8 p.m. Saturday to 2 a.m. Sunday, the NWS is predicting sky cover ranging from 48-58% in metro Detroit. It drops to 34% at 5 a.m. The west side of both peninsulas will have a lower percentage of cover during the same time periods.

The sky cover percentage in metro Detroit looks better for Sunday night with a range of 31-44% coverage between 8 p.m. Sunday to 2 a.m. Monday.