Northern Lights unlikely for anyone in NJ or NY on Thursday night

🌠 It was first thought people in 17 states would see the Northern Lights

🌠 The behavior of the solar storm needs changed

🌠 Clouds would likely have blocked New Jersey's view

The prospects for anyone to see a Northern Lights display in New Jersey and the northern United States are now non-existent.

The solar storm predicted to trigger a Northern Lights display visible in 17 states will not happen after, according to the University of Alaska-Fairbanks' Geophysical Institute which made the original forecast last week based on data from NOAA.

Seventeen states including Alaska, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Indiana, Maine and Maryland were all expected to have a great view. Now, no one will see them.

"The high levels of activity previously expected are now considered much less likely," the institute said in Twitter.

Forecasting "space weather" like the Northern Lights can only be accurately three days out, AccuWeather meteorologist Brian Lada told USA Today. Anything beyond that is speculation, according to Lada.

Many meteorologists including New Jersey 101.5 Chief Meteorologist Dan Zarrow was among those skeptical that the display would be as visible as predicted.

"It's a "minor" geomagnetic storm, and we don't see auroras very often in New Jersey," Zarrow said earlier in the week. He was also pessimistic about a clear view because of cloud cover.

The University of Alaska-Fairbanks' Geophysical Institute is still optimistic that the Northern Lights could still be visible in the U.S.

"We are heading toward solar maximum, which brings a gradual increase in the sun’s activity, so there will be plenty more opportunities for lower latitude aurora fans to see the lights," the institute said on its Twitter account.

Report a correction 👈 | 👉 Contact our newsroom