British Columbia, CanadaMagnetic latitude 58.8°Population 5,351494 m above sea level
Northern lights in Smithers
From Smithers the aurora is visible on most active nights — first low to the north-north-east, from about Kp 1.7.
Right now
Activity is high enough for a camera right now: point your phone north-north-east, low over the horizon.
Latest measured half-hour activity worldwide: Hp30 0.
Updates every minute while this page is open. Ground data: GFZ Potsdam Hp30 index (CC BY 4.0).
Tonight in one minute
Maybe — worth a look
- Solar activity Strong enough: Kp 4.7 expected, 1.7 needed here.
- Sky Partly cloudy (40% cloud) — look for gaps.
- Darkness Dark from 19:38 to 06:49.
What to do: Go somewhere dark around 21:00, give your eyes 15 minutes to adjust and look north-north-east, low over the horizon.
Monday 19 October — Good chance · Kp 4.7 · best around 21:30 · Forecast cloud: 40%. · Reliability: medium
Each box is one night: the colour shows the chance, the number the expected Kp. Tap a night for details.
📅 Add these nights to your calendar — it updates itself (.ics)
How far ahead can the northern lights be forecast?
- Minutes to an hour: satellites 1.5 million km away measure the solar wind before it reaches Earth. This is the surest warning — the “Right now” box uses it.
- 1–3 days: when the Sun throws out a cloud of particles, it takes one to three days to arrive. NOAA's 3-hourly forecast covers these nights; the timing can still be off by a few hours.
- 4–27 days: the Sun turns once every 27 days, and regions that disturbed Earth's field last time often do it again. NOAA's 27-day outlook gives this rough trend — new eruptions are not in it yet.
Tonight
Updated 07:05 local time
Excellent chance
Best around 21:00. Forecast max Kp 4.7 (this place needs 1.7), average cloud 40%.
- Dark enough
- 19:38 – 06:49
- Sunset
- 18:20 · sunrise 08:08
- Moon
- 59% · ↑ 16:27 · ↓ 00:59
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 1.7
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 0 (a red glow low in the north-north-east).
- Look towards
- north-north-east (18°)
Cloud layers and weather
Low cloud blocks the aurora completely. Thin high cloud often still lets a bright aurora shine through, so a sky with only high cloud is worth a look.
| Time | Mon, 19 | Mon, 22 | Tue, 01 | Tue, 04 | Tue, 19 | Tue, 22 | Wed, 01 | Wed, 04 | Wed, 19 | Wed, 22 | Thu, 01 | Thu, 04 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low cloud | 0% | 10% | 9% | 2% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 36% | 39% | 37% | 32% |
| Mid cloud | 7% | 25% | 58% | 97% | 6% | 0% | 31% | 91% | 24% | 4% | 0% | 0% |
| High cloud | 30% | 88% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 93% | 77% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Temperature | 6 °C | 3 °C | 2 °C | 2 °C | 8 °C | 4 °C | 3 °C | 3 °C | 5 °C | 4 °C | 3 °C | 2 °C |
| Feels like | 6 °C | 3 °C | 2 °C | 2 °C | 8 °C | 4 °C | 3 °C | 3 °C | 5 °C | 4 °C | 3 °C | 2 °C |
| Wind | 1 m/s | 1 m/s | 1 m/s | 0 m/s | 1 m/s | 1 m/s | 1 m/s | 1 m/s | 1 m/s | 1 m/s | 1 m/s | 1 m/s |
Cloud layers and weather: Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0).
Score = activity (NOAA Kp and OVATION) × clear sky (MET Norway) × darkness × moonlight. Methodology
Weather in Smithers
The aurora only shows through clear skies, so the weather matters as much as the Kp index. Here is the general forecast for Smithers: temperature, wind and the chance of rain for the coming days.
Planning further ahead? See the hour-by-hour weather forecast for Smithers on Atlas of Seasons.
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What you would see from Smithers
Facing north-north-east. Bands show where the aurora sits at two activity levels.
| Kp | What you see | Lower edge | Ray tops | Distance to the aurora |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Visible to the north-north-east | 12° | 24° | 411 km |
| 3 | Visible to the north-north-east | 28° | 45° | 189 km |
| 4 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 5 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 6 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-west | – | – | – |
| 7 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-west | – | – | – |
| 8 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-west | – | – | – |
| 9 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-west | – | – | – |
The Kp scale in plain words
Kp is a 0–9 score for how strongly the Earth's magnetic field is being shaken by the solar wind. The higher it goes, the further from the poles the northern lights reach. Kp 0–2 is a quiet night; Kp 5 and above is a geomagnetic storm.
- Kp 0–2 Quiet eye in Smithers camera in Smithers Only under the auroral oval: northern Norway, Swedish and Finnish Lapland, Iceland, Alaska, northern Canada.
- Kp 3 Unsettled Bright in the Arctic; low on the horizon in central Scandinavia and southern Iceland.
- Kp 4 Active Overhead in the Arctic; low in the north from southern Norway, Sweden, Finland and northern Scotland.
- Kp 5 Minor storm (G1) next 24 h Scotland, southern Scandinavia, the Baltic states, the northern US states and southern Canada.
- Kp 6 Moderate storm (G2) Northern England, Denmark, northern Germany and Poland, the US Midwest — often clearer in photos than to the eye.
- Kp 7 Strong storm (G3) Most of the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Czechia; red glow in photos from France and the northern Alps.
- Kp 8 Severe storm (G4) Central Europe to the eye; red sky in photos from northern Italy, Spain, the Balkans and Turkey's Black Sea coast.
- Kp 9 Extreme storm (G5) Seen across Europe and the US; in photos as far south as the Mediterranean, Turkey and North Africa (May 2024).
Light pollution
Rural to suburban. Some sky glow from nearby lights. Moderate displays are fine; faint ones are easier a few kilometres out.
A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the west-north-west. Open in OpenStreetMap
Estimate from NASA VIIRS night-light data (sky-glow model within 50 km). Check access and private land before you go.
Hills and mountains
The terrain rises to about 4° above the horizon towards the north-north-east. That hides low aurora: here you need about Kp 1.7 instead of Kp 1.7. A hilltop, shore or open field with a clear view to the north-north-east helps.
From elevation data (AWS Terrain Tiles) along seven lines of sight up to 30 km.
Best months to see the aurora in Smithers
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
February has been the best month (33% of nights), followed by March (30%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 25% | 38% | 8.4 h | 3° / 13°C |
| October | 17% | 27% | 10.8 h | -2° / 4°C |
| November | 15% | 24% | 12.6 h | -10° / -4°C |
| December | 19% | 35% | 13.6 h | -16° / -9°C |
| January | 19% | 30% | 13.1 h | -15° / -8°C |
| February | 33% | 46% | 11.4 h | -15° / -7°C |
| March | 30% | 42% | 9.5 h | -11° / -3°C |
| April | 22% | 45% | 6.6 h | -6° / 2°C |
Darkness through the year
- No full darkness (Sun 12° below the horizon) from 5 June to 8 July — the sky stays too bright for most auroras.
- Next new moon 9 November, next full moon 25 October. The darkest skies are in the week around new moon.
Aurora nights in Smithers since 1995
Nights when Kp reached 4.7 or more while it was dark here.
Most recent strong nights
- 4 October 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 3 October 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 7 September 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 3 July 2026 · Kp 6.3
- 18 April 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 17 April 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 2 April 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 1 April 2026 · Kp 5.0
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Smithers Airport (YYD) · 5 km
- Typical low / high in February
- -15° / -7°C
- What to wear
- Arctic cold: wool base layers, insulated jacket and trousers, warm boots, hat and mittens. Full clothing guide
- Emergency number
- 911
- Winter driving
- Rules are provincial: Québec requires winter tyres (mountain-snowflake symbol or studded) on Québec-registered vehicles Dec 1–Mar 15, and BC requires winter tyres or chains on signed routes Oct 1–Mar 31 (to Apr 30 on mountain passes/high-snowfall routes); road conditions via 511 Yukon (511yukon.ca), DriveNWT (drivenwt.ca), 511 Alberta, Manitoba 511 (manitoba511.ca) and DriveBC. Road conditions
- Access to land
- There is no national right to roam; private land requires the owner's permission, while national/provincial parks and Crown land are generally accessible subject to park rules, which vary by province and territory.
- Official space-weather service
- Space Weather Canada (Natural Resources Canada)
- Weather service
- Environment and Climate Change Canada (weather.gc.ca)
Questions and answers
What Kp do you need to see the aurora in Smithers?
From Smithers the aurora is visible on most active nights — first low to the north-north-east, from about Kp 1.7.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Smithers?
Face north-north-east (about 18° from true north). At Kp 1.7 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 12° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
What is the best month to see the aurora in Smithers?
Over 2005–2025, February gave the best odds in Smithers (33% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by March (30%).
When is the aurora season in Smithers?
From 5 June to 8 July the sky in Smithers never gets dark enough. Outside that period the aurora can be seen whenever activity and clouds allow.
Is there much light pollution in Smithers?
Some sky glow from nearby lights. Moderate displays are fine; faint ones are easier a few kilometres out. A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the west-north-west.
When was the aurora last possible in Smithers?
Activity last reached storm level (Kp 5 or more) during darkness in Smithers on 4 October 2026 (Kp 5.0) — 827 such nights since 1995. Here the aurora also appears on many quieter nights.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Smithers share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Hudson Bay Mountain 6 km
- Driftwood Creek 7 km
- Evelyn 13 km