Indianapolis, IN
Hoosiers in Central Indiana will get two more chances to view northern lights this weekend
Sky gazers who missed the colorful spectacle of the northern lights radiating across the night sky late Friday may get two more chances to witness the rare solar storm.
In a Saturday update, the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center said extreme geomagnetic storms will persist at least through Sunday, creating another opportunity to witness the rare aurora borealis. The aurora was visible across much of the United States on Friday, with reports of sightings in states as far away as Maine, Florida and California. “Weather permitting, they may be visible tonight,” the center said on X, formerly Twitter.
What’s the view like from Indianapolis?
There’s good news for Hoosiers living in Central Indiana where cloud conditions and urban lights made the aurora difficult for some to see. In a telephone interview, Mike Bettwy, operations chief of the NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Co, said Hoosiers in Indianapolis and surrounding areas might have a better chance of seeing the aurora today and Sunday.
They can expect clear skies tonight, Bettwy said.
“The aurora itself might be actually a little bit less active than it was last night,” he told IndyStar. “I think the ability for you to see it will be better because the skies will be clearing out — at least in the Indianapolis area and that immediate vicinity.”
The Space Weather Prediction Center is expecting a secondary peak in the geomagnetic storm Sunday afternoon and well into the evening, giving Hoosiers in Central Indiana a third opportunity to see the aurora this weekend.
“It looks like it could be close to as strong as it was last night,” Bettwy said.
More: Hoosiers might see northern lights this weekend, but it depends where you live in Indiana
Coronal mass ejections from the sun, or bursts of plasma and energy, impacted the Earth’s atmosphere causing geometric storms that can result in a strong and vibrant aurora.
Bettwy said a strong burst late Friday and a weaker one this morning will impact the atmosphere tonight into tomorrow, creating a repeat of the activity last night. The stronger the burst, the more colorful the aurora and the farther south it can be seen.
Did any Hoosiers get to see Friday’s aurora?
The NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center has received reports of the aurora visibility as far south as Florida and Puerto Rico. While Friday’s aurora may have been difficult to see for some in Central Indiana, Hoosiers across the state took to social media to share photos they snapped of the vibrant pink, purple, green and blue colors dazzling the sky.
Pictures where snapped from the sandy beaches of the Indiana Dune, from backyards in Kokomo and other Northwest Indiana towns, and even in Carmel.
How can you see the aurora?
Bettwy said there’s a possibility that Hoosiers living in Indianapolis could see the aurora from the city if the activity ends up being very strong. But, he suggests getting away from city lights — especially if you’re in the immediate Downtown — to get the best view.
“You are going to be much better if you get away from that light pollution and get out of a city,” he said. “But you don’t have to go far.”
If you’re still having trouble seeing the colors from where you are, Bettwy suggests using your smartphone to snap pictures of the night sky. Infrared imagery from phones can pick up things that people cannot see with the naked eye.
“Sometimes people will take a picture of the sky and they’re like, ‘Well, I don’t see anything,’ but then they look picture and are like ‘oh, I can see it now.’ So that’s another little tip. Sometimes people get a little treat when they actually look at the photo, because they can see more than what they would have seen with their eyes.”
Contact IndyStar investigative reporter Alexandria Burris at aburris@gannett.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, at @allyburris.
INDIANAPOLIS — One person is in critical condition following a shooting on Indy’s near east side.
According to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, around 8:10 p.m., officers were called to the 2000 block of East Washington Street on reports of a person shot.
Upon arrival, police located a 50-year-old man with injuries consistent with a gunshot wound.
He is currently reported to be in extremely critical condition.
No additional information has been made available at the time of this article’s publication.
This is a developing story; check back for updates.
The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission on June 17 gave AES the nod to raise electricity rates enough to earn an additional $71 million each year, a decision that drew reproof from Indiana lawmakers who called it another blow to cost-burdened consumers.
The approved rate represents less than half of the $192 million increase that AES initially requested. It’s also less than the $91 million increase proposed in an October settlement agreement between AES, the city of Indianapolis and major electricity consumers like Kroger and Walmart.
But the new rate is still significantly more than what the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor, the state agency representing ratepayers in the case, recommended in September. The OUCC’s proposal would have capped AES’s annual operating revenue at $21 million less than the current level.
The rate increase authorizes AES to earn a total of nearly $2 billion each year, or an estimated $384 million in profit.
The higher base rate comes as a double whammy for Indianapolis-area households, who are already paying more for electricity this summer after AES temporarily raised rates to account for higher-than-anticipated fuel costs during last winter’s storms. The increase also arrives against the backdrop of inflation, which rose to a three-year high last month, and surging gas prices due to the war in Iran.
Gov. Mike Braun wrote in a Wednesday post to X that he was “deeply disappointed” by the IURC’s approval of the rate increase.
“Hoosiers have spent years tightening their belts and making tough financial decisions,” Braun wrote. “It’s time for utility companies to do the same.”
The IURC’s decision also drew fire from the other side of the aisle. In a June 17 news release, five Democrats representing Indianapolis in the state Senate – J.D. Ford, Andrea Hunley, La Keisha Jackson, Fady Qaddoura, and Greg Taylor – chastised Indiana’s Republican supermajority for failing to rein in rising utility costs.
“Hoosiers pay more. Monopoly utilities collect more. And the leaders in the super-majority who promise affordability over and over again show those are just empty words,” the news release said. “Instead, they continue to defend a system that takes more and more out of our paychecks.”
The consumer advocacy group Citizens Action Coalition also slammed the rate increase. Ben Inskeep, CAC’s program director, said the decision left him “less optimistic that this commission is willing to do things differently and to actually hold utilities accountable.”
He said the IURC should have penalized AES for issues that plagued customers after the utility updated its billing system in 2023, including duplicated withdrawals for the same monthly bill.
The rate increase will take effect in two phases, with rates going up in July 2026 and January 2027. AES officials anticipate the hikes “will be less than $5 per month per phase” for a household that uses 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per month, according to a Wednesday news release from the utility.
“The IURC’s decision reflects a thorough, transparent process and balances the need for continued investment in the electric system with a focus on customer affordability,” the news release stated.
Under a state law that Braun signed in February, AES cannot ask for another increase to its base rate until January 2030 — though electricity bills could still go up for other reasons, like the fuel adjustment charge hitting consumers this month.
Three members of the five-member IURC signed off on the rate increase: Andy Zay, David Veleta, and David Ziegner. Commissioner Bob Deig dissented. Commissioner Anthony Swinger recused himself from the decision because he worked on the AES rate case for the OUCC before he was appointed to the IURC by Braun in January.
“None of this was taken lightly,” Zay, the IURC’s chair, said at the Wednesday hearing, adding that the commission and its staff had carefully weighed concerns about affordability. The commissioners did not go into further detail at the hearing.
But the commission’s order shows some of the debates that played out during the rate case. One point of contention was AES’s authorized return on equity — that is, how much the utility can earn each year in profits. Other disputes hinged on how AES forecasts its operating expenses.
The OUCC accused AES of including more than 100 “phantom hires,” vacant positions it did not necessarily intend to fill in its calculations. Last year, AES said that the rising costs of vegetation management, or trimming trees around power lines, also drove the need to raise rates. The OUCC recommended keeping vegetation management costs flat.
One factor that’s not driving higher prices? Data centers.
AES does not currently provide service to any data centers and did not include them in its calculations, AES president Brandi Davis-Handy said in testimony before the IURC.
Tilly Robinson is a Pulliam fellow for the Indianapolis Star. She can be reached at tilly.robinson@indystar.com.
Interactive radar | Weather alerts by county
WATCH LIVE COVERAGE
(WRTV) — A tornado watch has been issued through 1 a.m. EDT Thursday for much of Indiana, the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center said.
The watch area covers 47 of Indiana’s 92 counties, and includes Indianapolis and its surrounding counties.
Counties in the watch area are Bartholomew, Blackford, Boone, Brown, Carroll, Cass, Clay, Clinton, Daviess, Decatur, Delaware, Fountain, Grant, Greene, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Henry, Howard, Huntington, Jackson, Jay, Jennings, Johnson, Knox, Lawrence, Madison, Marion, Martin, Miami, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Owen, Parke, Putnam, Randolph, Rush, Shelby, Sullivan, Tippecanoe, Tipton, Vermillion, Vigo, Wabash, Warren, and White.
WRTV Meteorologist Ryan Morse says Wednesday afternoon’s rain was the first of two rounds coming to the Hoosier state. A line of supercells were expected to form in Illinois and travel into central Indiana.
In neighboring Illinois, dozens of counties are under a tornado watch until 10 p.m. CDT/11 p.m. EST.
All threats of severe weather were on the table: damaging wind, strong tornadoes, large hail, and flooding.
Severe storms should exit Indiana in the early morning hours.
WISH-TV Meteorologist Keith Gibson says people should have multiple ways of getting alerts and have electronic devices fully charged in case they lose power.
The next chance for rain after these storms could be on Saturday.
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