Quebec, CanadaMagnetic latitude 54.0°Population 13,565159 m above sea level
Northern lights in Sainte-Marie
Sainte-Marie needs an active night: from about Kp 4.3 the aurora appears low over the north-north-west horizon, and it rises higher as activity grows. Since 1995 that level (Kp 4.7) was reached during darkness here on 1,000 nights.
Right now
It is still light here. Darkness starts at 19:00.
Updates every minute while this page is open.
Tonight in one minute
Not tonight
- Solar activity Enough for a camera: Kp 2.7 expected, 2.7 needed for photos, 4.3 for the eye.
- Sky Overcast (85% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 19:00 to 05:58.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
- Detailed forecast Fri 16 2.7 Unlikely · Kp 2.7
- Sat 17 1.7 No · Kp 1.7
- 27-day trend Sun 18 2 No · Kp 2
- Mon 19 2 No · Kp 2
- Tue 20 3 Photos only · 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 Photos only · 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 Good chance · Kp 5
- Sat 31 5 Good chance · Kp 5
- Sun 1 5 Good chance · Kp 5
- Mon 2 3 Photos only · Kp 3
- Tue 3 2 No · Kp 2
- Wed 4 2 No · Kp 2
- Thu 5 3 Photos only · Kp 3
- Fri 6 3 Photos only · Kp 3
- Sat 7 3 Photos only · Kp 3
Friday 30 October — Good chance · Kp 5 · best around 23:30 · No cloud forecast this far ahead; in October about 48% 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 14:11 local time
Unlikely
Best around 18:00. Forecast max Kp 2.7 (this place needs 4.3), average cloud 85%.
- Dark enough
- 19:00 – 05:58
- Sunset
- 17:55 · sunrise 07:04
- Moon
- 32% · ↑ 13:27 · ↓ 21:16
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 4.3
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 2.7 (a red glow low in the north-north-west).
- Look towards
- north-north-west (346°)
Score = activity (NOAA Kp and OVATION) × clear sky (MET Norway) × darkness × moonlight. Methodology
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What you would see from Sainte-Marie
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 | 2° | 7° | 945 km |
| 3 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 5° | 12° | 723 km |
| 4 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 10° | 19° | 500 km |
| 5 | Visible to the north-north-west | 19° | 34° | 278 km |
| 6 | Visible to the north-north-west | 62° | 74° | 56 km |
| 7 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 8 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-east | – | – | – |
| 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 Only under the auroral oval: northern Norway, Swedish and Finnish Lapland, Iceland, Alaska, northern Canada.
- Kp 3 Unsettled next 24 h camera in Sainte-Marie Bright in the Arctic; low on the horizon in central Scandinavia and southern Iceland.
- Kp 4 Active eye in Sainte-Marie Overhead in the Arctic; low in the north from southern Norway, Sweden, Finland and northern Scotland.
- Kp 5 Minor storm (G1) 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 east-north-east. 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-west. That hides low aurora: here you need about Kp 4.3 instead of Kp 4.3. A hilltop, shore or open field with a clear view to the north-north-west helps.
From elevation data (AWS Terrain Tiles) along seven lines of sight up to 30 km.
Best months to see the aurora in Sainte-Marie
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
September has been the best month (7% of nights), followed by March (5%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 7% | 61% | 9.1 h | 9° / 19°C |
| October | 3% | 48% | 10.9 h | 3° / 12°C |
| November | 3% | 41% | 12.0 h | -4° / 3°C |
| December | 2% | 39% | 12.9 h | -11° / -4°C |
| January | 2% | 53% | 12.4 h | -16° / -7°C |
| February | 3% | 58% | 11.4 h | -16° / -6°C |
| March | 5% | 55% | 9.9 h | -10° / 0°C |
| April | 4% | 49% | 7.9 h | -2° / 8°C |
Aurora nights in Sainte-Marie 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
- 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
- Quebec Jean Lesage International Airport (YQB) · 49 km
- Typical low / high in September
- 9° / 19°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 Sainte-Marie?
Sainte-Marie needs an active night: from about Kp 4.3 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 Sainte-Marie?
Face north-north-west (about 346° from true north). At Kp 4.3 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 19° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
What is the best month to see the aurora in Sainte-Marie?
Over 2005–2025, September gave the best odds in Sainte-Marie (7% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by March (5%).
When is the aurora season in Sainte-Marie?
Sainte-Marie 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 Sainte-Marie?
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 east-north-east.
When was the aurora last possible in Sainte-Marie?
Activity last reached storm level (Kp 5 or more) during darkness in Sainte-Marie on 4 October 2026 (Kp 5.0) — 1,000 such nights since 1995. Here the aurora also appears on many quieter nights.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Sainte-Marie share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Sainte-Marie 1 km
- Sainte-Marie-De-Beauce 5 km
- Saint-Elzéar 7 km
- Scott 10 km
- Sainte-Marguerite 11 km
- Saint-Séverin 12 km
- Saint-Bernard 12 km
- Saint-Bernard 12 km
- Frampton 16 km
- Frampton 17 km
- Saint-Patrice-de-Beaurivage 17 km
- Saint-Sylvestre 18 km
- Saint-Patrice-de-Beaurivage 19 km