Excessive heat watch in effect through Sunday

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It was more trick than treat for Minnesotans hoping for a Halloween weekend display of the northern lights late Saturday and early Sunday.

The northern lights are notoriously difficult to predict and this weekend was another example of that.

A solar flare erupted on Thursday and was expected to reach Earth on Saturday. NOAA's Space Weather prediction center in Boulder, Colo., issued a 

When the solar flare eruption happened, it resulted in a coronal mass ejection, or a large cloud of solar-charged particles headed toward Earth. These particles are what may amplify the northern lights.

conditions were right for a great northern lights display

 this weekend — as so often happens, the aurora defied predictions. While there were some reports of faint auroras visible across the Upper Midwest overnight, there was no large-scale, widely visible display late Saturday or early Sunday — to the disappointment of Minnesotans who sought out dark, clear viewing spots and scanned the northern sky.

There's a chance the northern lights could be visible on Sunday night, though parts of Minnesota may have mostly cloudy skies.

And a general increase in solar activity means there'll likely be more opportunities to view the northern lights during the long winter nights ahead.

Tips for spotting the northern lights

Minnesota News

Lifestyle

Outdoors

MPR News Staff

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It was more trick than treat for Minnesotans hoping for a Halloween weekend display of the northern lights late Saturday and early Sunday.


Northern lights in the sky north of Duluth. 

Northern lights defy predictions; large-scale display fails to materialize in Minnesota skies

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