NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center has issued an alert for a possible aurora borealis, in fact a strong geomagnetic storm is expected between Dec. 31, 2024 and New Year’s Day, it is a rare but not impossible event, especially for the occurrence of specific weather conditions.
The year 2024 was a year with a particularly intense solar cycle, and it appears that the coming new year will be as well. This increases the likelihood of phenomena such as the aurora borealis, which may be visible even at lower latitudes where it is usually more difficult to observe this phenomenon, such as here in our country, but in the case of strong geomagnetic storms it is not so impossible.
By New Year’s Eve 2025, a strong solar storm is expected between Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 a due to incoming plasma fluxes from coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that could generate visible auroras in several parts of Europe, including northern Italy, if atmospheric conditions permit. Eyes to the sky tonight and let’s see.
Aurora Borealis tonight
Despite the excitement of being able to witness something like this there is to be said that here in our country it is a bit difficult: the latitude does not help (Italy is far south of the polar areas where the aurora is more frequent), the light pollution of a big city like Milan, and the weather: there must be a clear sky without cloudiness, according to the forecast tonight the sky should be in good conditions,. The Space Weather Prediction Center has issued an alert for a G3-level geomagnetic storm . Italy would need a G4 storm to observe such a phenomenon.
If you want to try your luck you either move away from Milan to mountain/rural areas with dark skies and away from light pollution or look for places in the city where you can shy away from the light a bit, either Monte Stella, or the little mound in Portello Park or a nice extended park like the quarries or Parco Nord. Among other things you can to monitor geomagnetic activity with the aurora forecast app.
In conclusion, we recommend that you try it. The Northern Lights is a rare event and dependent on several factors that would all have to be favorable for it to happen, but it won’t hurt to try. Certainly a trip to Lapland or the northern countries ensures the experience.