British Columbia·Photos
People in southwest B.C. were dazzled by the northern lights on Monday and Tuesday, and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says there’s a good chance the aurora borealis will be visible again Wednesday night across much of B.C.
Good chance northern lights visible again on Wednesday: U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
CBC News · Posted: Jan 21, 2026 8:59 PM EST | Last Updated: 4 hours ago
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This photo of the northern lights was taken in Abbotsford, B.C., earlier this week. (Submitted by Jasleen Grewal)
People in southwest B.C. were dazzled by the northern lights on Monday and Tuesday.
It comes after a series of solar flares were released, with the Earth just happening to be in the path of the radiation storm.
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says there’s a good chance the aurora borealis is again visible on Wednesday night throughout much of B.C.
Its aurora viewline webpage shows a high likelihood of an aurora borealis being viewable for nearly all of northern B.C. and Canada, with a somewhat lower chance further south in southwest B.C. and Metro Vancouver.
Here are some of the best pictures CBC News has received of the aurora borealis from the start of the week.
This photo was taken in Porteau Cove, B.C., in the Sea-to-Sky region. (Submitted by Ali Shah)
Ryan Voutilainen took this picture at Pitt Meadows, B.C., on Monday. Solar flares are explosions of particles from the sun that travel faster than normal on the solar wind. (Ryan Voutilainen/X)
Patrick Nelson took this picture near Gibsons, B.C., on the Sunshine Coast. If Earth is in the path of a solar flare, the particles interact with its magnetic field and can create beautiful northern lights, also known as the aurora borealis (or if you’re in the southern hemisphere, aurora australis). (Patrick Nelson/Facebook)
While the northern lights are generally visible in areas away from light pollution, this photo was taken in East Vancouver. (nickbrnco/Reddit)
A Dawson Road Maintenance worker took this picture near Fort St. John in northeast B.C. Forecasters say that northern B.C. has a good chance to catch the northern lights again on Wednesday. (Dawson Road Maintenance/Facebook)
Another photo from Dawson Road Maintenance near Fort St. John. Generally, people in southern B.C. don’t get the chance to view the northern lights very often. (Dawson Road Maintenance/Facebook)
These pictures were also taken in the Sunshine Coast, near Powell River. (Submitted by Tracey Hawryluk)Corrections and clarifications·Submit a news tip·Report error