New Brunswick, CanadaMagnetic latitude 52.6°Population 63,116110 m above sea level
Northern lights in Fredericton
Fredericton needs an active night: from about Kp 5 the aurora appears low over the north-north-west horizon, and it rises higher as activity grows. Since 1995 that level (Kp 5) was reached during darkness here on 677 nights.
Right now
Quiet right now (Kp 0.0).
Latest measured half-hour activity worldwide: Hp30 3.
Updates every minute while this page is open. Ground data: GFZ Potsdam Hp30 index (CC BY 4.0).
Tonight in one minute
Not tonight
- Solar activity Too weak: Kp 1.3 expected, 5 needed here.
- Sky Mostly clear (1% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 19:40 to 06:43.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
Saturday 31 October — Good chance · Kp 5 · best around 00:30 · No cloud forecast this far ahead; in October about 53% of nights are clear here. · Reliability: low (rough trend)
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 03:09 local time
Unlikely
Best around 03:00. Forecast max Kp 1.3 (this place needs 5), average cloud 1%.
- Dark enough
- 19:40 – 06:43
- Sunset
- 18:35 · sunrise 07:49
- Moon
- 46% · ↑ 15:20 · ↓ 23:03
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 5
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 3.3 (a red glow low in the north-north-west).
- Look towards
- north-north-west (344°)
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 | Sun, 03 | Sun, 06 | Sun, 21 | Mon, 00 | Mon, 03 | Mon, 06 | Mon, 21 | Tue, 00 | Tue, 03 | Tue, 06 | Tue, 21 | Wed, 00 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low cloud | 0% | 9% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Mid cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| High cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 52% | 79% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 50% |
| Temperature | -2 °C | -2 °C | 4 °C | 3 °C | 2 °C | 3 °C | 7 °C | 5 °C | 5 °C | 5 °C | 7 °C | 5 °C |
| Feels like | -4 °C | -4 °C | 2 °C | 1 °C | 0 °C | 0 °C | 4 °C | 3 °C | 3 °C | 5 °C | 5 °C | 3 °C |
| Wind | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 1 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 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
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What you would see from Fredericton
Facing north-north-west. Bands show where the aurora sits at two activity levels.
| Kp | What you see | Lower edge | Ray tops | Distance to the aurora |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Below the horizon | 0° | 5° | 1,101 km |
| 3 | Below the horizon | 3° | 9° | 878 km |
| 4 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 6° | 14° | 656 km |
| 5 | Visible to the north-north-west | 12° | 22° | 434 km |
| 6 | Visible to the north-north-west | 25° | 42° | 211 km |
| 7 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 8 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 9 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-east | – | – | – |
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 next 24 h Only under the auroral oval: northern Norway, Swedish and Finnish Lapland, Iceland, Alaska, northern Canada.
- Kp 3 Unsettled camera in Fredericton 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) eye in Fredericton 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
Suburban sky. Noticeable sky glow. Bright displays are visible, but driving out of town makes a clear difference.
A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the 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 horizon towards the north-north-west is open (terrain below 0.3°), so low aurora is not blocked.
From elevation data (AWS Terrain Tiles) along seven lines of sight up to 30 km.
Best months to see the aurora in Fredericton
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
September has been the best month (5% of nights), followed by February (3%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 5% | 66% | 9.1 h | 9° / 20°C |
| October | 3% | 53% | 10.9 h | 4° / 13°C |
| November | 2% | 47% | 12.0 h | -3° / 5°C |
| December | 1% | 53% | 12.6 h | -9° / -2°C |
| January | 2% | 57% | 12.4 h | -14° / -5°C |
| February | 3% | 63% | 11.4 h | -14° / -4°C |
| March | 3% | 58% | 9.9 h | -8° / 2°C |
| April | 2% | 53% | 7.9 h | -1° / 9°C |
Aurora nights in Fredericton since 1995
Nights when Kp reached 5 or more while it was dark here.
Most recent strong nights
- 4 October 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 7 September 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 3 July 2026 · Kp 7.0
- 24 June 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 15 May 2026 · Kp 5.7
- 18 April 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 17 April 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 2 April 2026 · Kp 5.3
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Fredericton International Airport (YFC) · 14 km
- Typical low / high in September
- 9° / 20°C
- What to wear
- Cool nights: layers, a windproof jacket, hat and gloves for standing still outside. 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 Fredericton?
Fredericton needs an active night: from about Kp 5 the aurora appears low over the north-north-west horizon, and it rises higher as activity grows.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Fredericton?
Face north-north-west (about 344° from true north). At Kp 5 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 Fredericton?
Over 2005–2025, September gave the best odds in Fredericton (5% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by February (3%).
When is the aurora season in Fredericton?
Fredericton gets dark enough for the aurora all year round, though the long winter nights give the most hours to watch.
Is there much light pollution in Fredericton?
Noticeable sky glow. Bright displays are visible, but driving out of town makes a clear difference. A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the north-west.
When was the aurora last possible in Fredericton?
The most recent night in our data when activity reached the level Fredericton needs, during darkness, was 4 October 2026 (Kp 5.0). It has happened on 677 nights since 1995.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Fredericton share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Uptown Fredericton 0 km
- Queen Square 2 km
- Town Plat 2 km
- Rabbit Town 2 km
- College Hill 2 km
- Waterloo Row 2 km
- Sunshine Gardens 2 km
- North Hanwell 2 km
- Skyline Acres 3 km
- Garden Creek 4 km
- Sunset Acres 4 km
- Southwood Park 4 km
- Lower St. Marys 5 km
- Killarney Road 10 km
- Durham Bridge 20 km
- Lower Durham 23 km
- Upper Durham 24 km
- Taymouth 27 km
- Tay Valley 29 km
- Ross 30 km
- Zionville 30 km
- Pleasant Valley 31 km
- Covered Bridge 32 km
- Nashwaak Bridge 32 km
- Tay Falls 32 km
- English Settlement 34 km
- Tay Creek 34 km
- North Tay 35 km
- Cross Creek Station 36 km
- South Portage 36 km
- Boyds Corner 37 km
- Limekiln 37 km
- Sutherland Siding 37 km
- Stanley 38 km
- Ward Settlement 39 km
- Fredericksburg 39 km