Alaska, United StatesMagnetic latitude 60.0°Population 1,95633 m above sea level
Northern lights in Bear Creek
From Bear Creek the aurora is visible on most active nights — first low to the north-north-east, from about Kp 1.3.
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 1.3.
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 Strong enough: Kp 3 expected, 1.3 needed here.
- Sky Overcast (81% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 20:04 to 07:21. A bright moon (75%) washes out faint displays.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
Wednesday 21 October — Possible · Kp 3 · best around 02:30 · Forecast cloud: 81%. · Reliability: good
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 01:38 local time
Possible
Best around 05:00. Forecast max Kp 3.0 (this place needs 1.3), average cloud 81%.
- Dark enough
- 20:04 – 07:21
- Sunset
- 18:29 · sunrise 08:55
- Moon
- 75% · ↑ 17:28 · ↓ 02:36
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 1.3
- 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 | Wed, 01 | Wed, 04 | Wed, 07 | Wed, 22 | Thu, 01 | Thu, 04 | Thu, 07 | Thu, 22 | Fri, 01 | Fri, 04 | Fri, 07 | Fri, 21 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low cloud | 54% | 75% | 74% | 10% | 5% | 1% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 92% |
| Mid cloud | 15% | 11% | 25% | 31% | 25% | 18% | 8% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 95% |
| High cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 5% | 3% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 50% | 27% |
| Temperature | 1 °C | 1 °C | 0 °C | -3 °C | -4 °C | -4 °C | -5 °C | -6 °C | -7 °C | -7 °C | -7 °C | 1 °C |
| Feels like | -2 °C | -2 °C | -3 °C | -8 °C | -9 °C | -9 °C | -10 °C | -10 °C | -11 °C | -10 °C | -7 °C | -1 °C |
| Wind | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 4 m/s | 4 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 1 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
Weather in Bear Creek
The aurora only shows through clear skies, so the weather matters as much as the Kp index. Here is the general forecast for Bear Creek: temperature, wind and the chance of rain for the coming days.
Planning further ahead? See the hour-by-hour weather forecast for Bear Creek on Atlas of Seasons.
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Live webcams near Bear Creek
Check the sky for yourself: public cameras within 300 km. They open on the camera owner's website.
These cameras belong to their owners — we only link to them. Most show little in daylight or under cloud, and some pause in summer.
Do you host guests in Bear Creek? Give them a free aurora forecast page and a QR poster for your property. Create a guest page →
What you would see from Bear Creek
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 | 19° | 34° | 278 km |
| 3 | Visible to the north-north-east | 62° | 74° | 56 km |
| 4 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 5 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-west | – | – | – |
| 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 Bear Creek camera in Bear Creek 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 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
Pristine dark sky. Almost no artificial light: faint aurora and the Milky Way are easy to see.
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 6° above the horizon towards the north-north-east. That hides low aurora: here you need about Kp 1.3 instead of Kp 1.3. 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 Bear Creek
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
January has been the best month (31% of nights), followed by March (30%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 17% | 24% | 7.9 h | 7° / 9°C |
| October | 19% | 29% | 10.6 h | 2° / 5°C |
| November | 27% | 41% | 13.0 h | -3° / 0°C |
| December | 22% | 35% | 14.1 h | -4° / 0°C |
| January | 31% | 41% | 13.6 h | -5° / -1°C |
| February | 27% | 40% | 11.5 h | -5° / -1°C |
| March | 30% | 44% | 9.1 h | -4° / -1°C |
| April | 17% | 38% | 5.4 h | -1° / 2°C |
Darkness through the year
- No full darkness (Sun 12° below the horizon) from 10 May to 2 August — the sky stays too bright for most auroras.
- Next new moon 8 November, next full moon 25 October. The darkest skies are in the week around new moon.
Aurora nights in Bear Creek 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
- 18 April 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 17 April 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 2 April 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 1 April 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 24 March 2026 · Kp 5.0
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC) · 117 km
- Typical low / high in January
- -5° / -1°C
- What to wear
- Below freezing at night: thermal layers, a warm jacket, hat, gloves and winter boots. Full clothing guide
- Emergency number
- 911
- Winter driving
- Tyre and chain rules are set at state level; check Alaska 511 (511.alaska.gov, Alaska DOT&PF) for Alaska roads, or the relevant state's 511 service elsewhere. Road conditions
- Access to land
- There is no general right to roam; trespass law is set by each state, so stay on public land (national parks, national forests, BLM land) or get the landowner's permission, and follow each park's night-time and parking rules.
- Official space-weather service
- NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center (aurora dashboard)
- Weather service
- National Weather Service (NOAA)
Questions and answers
What Kp do you need to see the aurora in Bear Creek?
From Bear Creek the aurora is visible on most active nights — first low to the north-north-east, from about Kp 1.3.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Bear Creek?
Face north-north-east (about 18° from true north). At Kp 1.3 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 Bear Creek?
Over 2005–2025, January gave the best odds in Bear Creek (31% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by March (30%).
When is the aurora season in Bear Creek?
From 10 May to 2 August the sky in Bear Creek never gets dark enough. Outside that period the aurora can be seen whenever activity and clouds allow.
Is there much light pollution in Bear Creek?
Almost no artificial light: faint aurora and the Milky Way are easy to see.
When was the aurora last possible in Bear Creek?
Activity last reached storm level (Kp 5 or more) during darkness in Bear Creek on 4 October 2026 (Kp 5.0) — 713 such nights since 1995. Here the aurora also appears on many quieter nights.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Bear Creek share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Woodrow 3 km
- Primrose 20 km
- Lakeview 21 km
- Lawing 27 km
- Muskwa Village 27 km
- Falls 28 km
- Crown Point 29 km
- Moose Pass 36 km