In Churchill, Manitoba fall is polar bear season and winter is aurora season. The rest of the year provides overlapping sights and wildlife encounters but those two seasons are pretty exclusive for those attractions. You can see northern lights in Churchill just about year-round though the most reliable time is the heart of winter. The Hudson Bay is frozen and therefore the moisture level in the air is low influencing cloud cover. Natural Habitat Adventures is gearing up for the aurora season that begins on January 31. This year promises to be the most amazing year so far with a record number of people taking the train or flying to Churchill for a glimpse of the magical lights.
FACT: There needs to be solar flares on the sun or solar wind for the aurora borealis to happen. When particles from the sun enter Earth’s atmosphere and collide violently with gas atoms various colors of “northern lights” appear.
Check out this link for aurora forecasts in the north:
https://gi.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast
Aurora in the northern Churchill sky.
Aurora borealis in Churchill. Colby Brokvist photo.
Aurora in the boreal forest. Brad Josephs photo.
Incredible shot of musher hut with aurora above. Brad Joseph photo.
