Northern lights could be seen across Canada this weekend, including southern Ontario

You don't need special equipment to see the aurora!

northern lights in the sky above mountains and buildings in vancouver

Northern lights in Vancouver.

Senior Writer

The northern lights are dipping down across the country this weekend.

So, you could see the aurora almost everywhere in Canada, including southern Ontario and southern B.C.

A new northern lights forecast put out by NOAA revealed that the aurora will plunge south on Friday, September 5 and Saturday, September 6.

That's because geomagnetic storms are expected as a coronal mass ejection reaches Earth.

The northern lights should be "more intense" in Smithers, Prince George, Calgary, Banff, Edmonton, Jasper, Yellowknife, Whitehorse, Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Churchill, and Moosonee.

A less intense aurora is forecast this weekend for Nanaimo, Vancouver, Kelowna, Lethbridge, Thunder Bay, Timmins, Saguenay, and Labrador City.

The forecast also includes a view line that shows the southern-most locations where you can see the aurora on the northern horizon.

Victoria, Sudbury, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, Moncton, Charlottetown and nearby places are within the view line on Friday and Saturday.

northern lights forecast map of canada for september 5 and september 6 2025 Northern lights forecast map for September 5 and September 6, 2025.NOAA

In this forecast map from NOAA, the brightness and location of the aurora are shown as a green oval centred on Earth's magnetic pole.

The green oval turns red when the aurora is forecast to be "more intense."

NOAA said that the northern lights don't need to be directly overhead to be visible.

The aurora can actually be observed from as much as 1,000 kilometres away when it's bright!

So, if you want to see the aurora this weekend, the Canadian Space Agency has northern lights viewing tips.

The northern lights typically appear a few hours after sunset and become more intense around midnight.

You need to find a place with little or no light pollution.

If a less intense aurora is forecast, even a bit of city light can block your view.

Once you're in a dark location, look all around because the northern lights can appear anywhere in the sky, according to the Canadian Space Agency.

However, if you're in a place along the forecast's view line, NOAA said the northern lights will only be visible toward the northern horizon.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.

  • Senior Writer

    Lisa Belmonte (she/her) is a Senior Writer with Narcity Media. After graduating with a Bachelor of Journalism from Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University), she joined the Narcity team. Lisa covers news and notices from across the country from a Canada-wide perspective. Her early coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic earned Narcity its first-ever national journalism award nomination.

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