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Montanans hoping to get a peek at the Northern Lights, may get their wish after all.

Current aurora forecast models show the phenomenon showing over Europe and the north Atlantic Ocean.

So far, these models showed the aurora staying over these regions, avoiding North America.

Within the last ten minutes, the forecasts shifted.

Now, activity is increasing in Canada, and it won't be long before Montanans will get the opportunity.

During the next few hours, the spectacular sight may be visible under the Big Sky.

Spaceweather.com provided us with the amazing picture of tonight's Northern lights in Finland.

The strongest solar radiation storm since December 2006 is in progress and continues to get stronger, and a very fast coronal mass ejection is headed towards Earth.

NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center has information about the event and the likelihood of being able to see the Northern Lights:

Being able to see the Aurora depends mainly on two factors, geomagnetic activity (the degree of disturbance of the earth's magnetic field at the time) and your geographic location. Further considerations are the weather at your location, and light pollution from city lights, full moon and so forth.

In general, you are more likely to see an aurora if you are at a high latitude, i.e. closer to the north (or south) pole. However, there is a catch to this. The earth's magnetic poles are not exactly in line with the geographic poles, so the latitude of interest would really be the magnetic latitude. Note that it is not necessary for the equatorward boundary of the aurora to reach all the way down to your magnetic latitude for you to see it. The aurora is easily visible even when its boundary is 4 or 5 degrees poleward of your location.

Click here to read more at the SWPC website.

Deborah Bird of EarthSky offers more insight, including the following information:

What time should I look for the January 24, 2012 aurora? The leading edge of the stream of charged particles - known as a coronal mass ejection, or CME - was predicted to reach Earth on January 24 at 8 a.m. CST, or 14 UTC (+/- 7 hours). You must see the aurora at nighttime, of course, so you will want to look in a night sky, as soon as possible after the CME arrives. For us in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas, that will be the evening of January 24.

How far south will the January 24, 2012 aurora be seen? The January 24 aurora is expected to be visible from the entire northern half of the U.S., all of the U.K. and throughout the world at lower latitudes than usual.

What special sky conditions are required to see tonight's aurora? To see the aurora, you'll need a nice clear sky with no obscuring clouds. You should do yourself a favor and ride half an hour or so beyond the lights of the city to view tonight's aurora. You might be able to glimpse it from within the city, but more likely city lights will drown the aurora from view.