Ontario, CanadaMagnetic latitude 51.5°Population 43,550183 m above sea level
Can you see the northern lights in Chatham?
From Chatham the aurora is seen only during geomagnetic storms (about Kp 5.3 or more), usually as a glow low in the north. Cameras often pick it up before the eye does. Since 1995 that level (Kp 5.3) was reached during darkness here on 450 nights.
Right now
Quiet right now (Kp 0.0).
Latest measured half-hour activity worldwide: Hp30 2.
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 3.3 expected, 5.3 needed here.
- Sky Overcast (78% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 19:45 to 06:43.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
- Detailed forecast Fri 16 3.3 No · Kp 3.3
- Sat 17 1.7 No · Kp 1.7
- Sun 18 1.7 No · Kp 1.7
- 27-day trend Mon 19 2 No · Kp 2
- Tue 20 3 No · Kp 3
- Wed 21 4 Photos only · Kp 4
- Thu 22 4 Photos only · Kp 4
- Fri 23 4 Photos only · Kp 4
- Sat 24 3 No · Kp 3
- Sun 25 2 No · Kp 2
- Mon 26 2 No · Kp 2
- Tue 27 2 No · Kp 2
- Wed 28 2 No · Kp 2
- Thu 29 2 No · Kp 2
- Fri 30 5 Photos only · Kp 5
- Sat 31 5 Photos only · Kp 5
- Sun 1 5 Photos only · Kp 5
- Mon 2 3 No · Kp 3
- Tue 3 2 No · Kp 2
- Wed 4 2 No · Kp 2
- Thu 5 3 No · Kp 3
- Fri 6 3 No · Kp 3
- Sat 7 3 No · Kp 3
Thursday 22 October — Photos only · Kp 4 · best around 00:30 · Forecast cloud: 47%. · 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 23:16 local time
Unlikely
Best around 23:00. Forecast max Kp 3.3 (this place needs 5.3), average cloud 78%.
- Dark enough
- 19:45 – 06:43
- Sunset
- 18:44 · sunrise 07:44
- Moon
- 36% · ↑ 14:35 · ↓ 22:23
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 5.3
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 3.7 (a red glow low in the north).
- Look towards
- north (354°)
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 | Fri, 23 | Sat, 02 | Sat, 05 | Sat, 20 | Sat, 23 | Sun, 02 | Sun, 05 | Sun, 20 | Sun, 23 | Mon, 02 | Mon, 05 | Mon, 20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low cloud | 90% | 87% | 100% | 0% | 0% | 1% | 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% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Temperature | 8 °C | 8 °C | 6 °C | 6 °C | 5 °C | 5 °C | 4 °C | 11 °C | 11 °C | 10 °C | 9 °C | 12 °C |
| Feels like | 4 °C | 4 °C | 2 °C | 3 °C | 2 °C | 2 °C | 0 °C | 7 °C | 7 °C | 6 °C | 6 °C | 10 °C |
| Wind | 5 m/s | 5 m/s | 4 m/s | 2 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 2 m/s | 1 m/s |
| Visibility | 19 km | 17 km | 22 km | 30 km | 22 km | 17 km | 17 km | 26 km | 24 km | 24 km | 24 km | 24 km |
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 Chatham
Facing north. 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 | -1° | 4° | 1,223 km |
| 3 | Below the horizon | 1° | 7° | 1,001 km |
| 4 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 4° | 11° | 778 km |
| 5 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 8° | 17° | 556 km |
| 6 | Visible to the north | 16° | 29° | 334 km |
| 7 | Visible to the north | 43° | 60° | 111 km |
| 8 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 9 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
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 Only under the auroral oval: northern Norway, Swedish and Finnish Lapland, Iceland, Alaska, northern Canada.
- Kp 3 Unsettled next 24 h Bright in the Arctic; low on the horizon in central Scandinavia and southern Iceland.
- Kp 4 Active camera in Chatham Overhead in the Arctic; low in the north from southern Norway, Sweden, Finland and northern Scotland.
- Kp 5 Minor storm (G1) eye in Chatham 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
Bright suburban sky. Strong sky glow washes out faint aurora. Head out of town for anything but a bright display.
A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the north. 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 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 Chatham
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
September has been the best month (3% of nights), followed by March (2%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 3% | 61% | 9.3 h | 19° / 22°C |
| October | 2% | 44% | 10.9 h | 12° / 16°C |
| November | 0.6% | 35% | 12.0 h | 6° / 9°C |
| December | 0.6% | 19% | 12.6 h | 1° / 4°C |
| January | 0.6% | 22% | 12.3 h | -4° / 0°C |
| February | 0.5% | 25% | 11.1 h | -5° / 0°C |
| March | 2% | 40% | 9.9 h | -1° / 4°C |
| April | 0.5% | 33% | 8.4 h | 4° / 9°C |
Aurora nights in Chatham since 1995
Nights when Kp reached 5.3 or more while it was dark here.
Most recent strong nights
- 3 July 2026 · Kp 7.0
- 18 April 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 17 April 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 2 April 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 21 March 2026 · Kp 6.3
- 20 March 2026 · Kp 7.0
- 13 March 2026 · Kp 6.0
- 21 February 2026 · Kp 5.3
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Windsor International Airport (YQG) · 65 km
- Typical low / high in September
- 19° / 22°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 Chatham?
From Chatham the aurora is seen only during geomagnetic storms (about Kp 5.3 or more), usually as a glow low in the north. Cameras often pick it up before the eye does.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Chatham?
Face north (about 354° from true north). At Kp 5.3 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 16° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
What is the best month to see the aurora in Chatham?
Over 2005–2025, September gave the best odds in Chatham (3% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by March (2%).
When is the aurora season in Chatham?
Chatham 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 Chatham?
Strong sky glow washes out faint aurora. Head out of town for anything but a bright display. A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the north.
When was the aurora last possible in Chatham?
The most recent night in our data when activity reached the level Chatham needs, during darkness, was 3 July 2026 (Kp 7.0). It has happened on 450 nights since 1995.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Chatham share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Chatham-Kent 1 km
- Riverside Trailer Park 3 km
- Wilsonwood 3 km
- Chatham-Kent 4 km
- Darrell 7 km
- Van Horne 7 km
- Vosburg 7 km
- Doyles 9 km
- Kent Centre 9 km
- Louisville 9 km
- Pain Court 9 km
- Rhodes 9 km
- Bear Line 10 km
- Eberts 10 km
- Oungah 11 km
- Huffman Corners 12 km
- North Buxton 12 km
- Appledore 13 km
- Pinehurst 13 km
- Northwood 14 km
- Prairie Siding 14 km
- Kent Bridge 15 km
- South Buxton 15 km
- Bagnall 16 km
- Fletcher 16 km
- Sandison 17 km
- Thorncliffe 17 km
- Blenheim 18 km
- Dawn Mills 20 km
- Dealtown 20 km
- Ouvry 20 km
- Wabash 20 km
- North Thamesville 23 km
- Thamesville 23 km
- Port Crewe 24 km
- Croton 25 km
- Erieau 28 km