Alaska, United StatesMagnetic latitude 67.2°319 m above sea level
Northern lights in Coldfoot
Coldfoot sits right under the auroral oval: on clear, dark nights the aurora is often overhead, even when activity is quiet. Clouds matter far more than the Kp number here.
Right now
It is still light here. Darkness starts at 20:14.
Latest measured half-hour activity worldwide: Hp30 0.3.
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 3.7 expected, 0 needed here.
- Sky Overcast (89% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 20:14 to 07:18.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
Thursday 22 October — Good chance · Kp 4 · best around 01:00 · Forecast cloud: 12%. · 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 17:11 local time
Good chance
Best around 04:00. Forecast max Kp 3.7 (this place needs 0), average cloud 89%.
- Dark enough
- 20:14 – 07:18
- Sunset
- 18:16 · sunrise 09:17
- Moon
- 54% · ↑ 19:37 · ↓ 21:29
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 0
- Look towards
- north-north-east (22°)
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, 20 | Sun, 23 | Mon, 02 | Mon, 05 | Mon, 20 | Mon, 23 | Tue, 02 | Tue, 05 | Tue, 20 | Tue, 23 | Wed, 02 | Wed, 05 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low cloud | 56% | 53% | 45% | 34% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Mid cloud | 57% | 64% | 79% | 73% | 75% | 67% | 90% | 99% | 30% | 22% | 7% | 0% |
| High cloud | 77% | 67% | 23% | 0% | 11% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 59% | 76% | 44% | 22% |
| Temperature | -10 °C | -11 °C | -11 °C | -11 °C | -10 °C | -10 °C | -9 °C | -9 °C | -8 °C | -10 °C | -10 °C | -11 °C |
| Feels like | -10 °C | -14 °C | -14 °C | -15 °C | -14 °C | -15 °C | -14 °C | -13 °C | -14 °C | -16 °C | -16 °C | -17 °C |
| Wind | 1 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 3 m/s | 4 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s |
Cloud layers and weather: Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0).
Clearer skies nearby tonight
Tonight's cloud forecast is similar in every direction within 100 km (88% here), so driving is unlikely to help.
MET Norway forecast at 24 points within 100 km, averaged over the dark hours. Check roads and conditions before driving.
Score = activity (NOAA Kp and OVATION) × clear sky (MET Norway) × darkness × moonlight. Methodology
Weather in Coldfoot
The aurora only shows through clear skies, so the weather matters as much as the Kp index. Here is the general forecast for Coldfoot: temperature, wind and the chance of rain for the coming days.
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Live webcams near Coldfoot
Check the sky for yourself: public cameras within 300 km. They open on the camera owner's website.
- Toolik Lake all-sky camera ↗ Open the live camera (opens in a new tab) All-sky
- Poker Flat all-sky camera (near Fairbanks) ↗ Open the live camera (opens in a new tab) All-sky
- Aurora Camp, Moose Mountain (Fairbanks) ↗ Open the live camera (opens in a new tab) Scenic
- Fairbanks aurora camera ↗ Open the live camera (opens in a new tab) Scenic
These cameras belong to their owners — we only link to them. Most show little in daylight or under cloud, and some pause in summer.
What you would see from Coldfoot
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 2 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-west | – | – | – |
| 3 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-west | – | – | – |
| 4 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-west | – | – | – |
| 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 Coldfoot 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 next 24 h 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 7° above the horizon towards the north-north-east. That hides low aurora: here you need about Kp 0 instead of Kp 0. 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 Coldfoot
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
March has been the best month (78% of nights), followed by January (76%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 39% | 39% | 6.1 h | -1° / 6°C |
| October | 46% | 46% | 10.4 h | -11° / -6°C |
| November | 71% | 71% | 13.8 h | -21° / -17°C |
| December | 73% | 73% | 15.1 h | -24° / -19°C |
| January | 76% | 76% | 14.5 h | -26° / -21°C |
| February | 74% | 74% | 11.5 h | -25° / -18°C |
| March | 78% | 78% | 8.0 h | -23° / -13°C |
| April | 39% | 79% | 1.9 h | -13° / -4°C |
Darkness through the year
- No full darkness (Sun 12° below the horizon) from 16 April to 26 August — the sky stays too bright for most auroras.
- Midnight sun from 30 May to 14 July.
- Polar night from 19 December to 24 December: the sun stays below the horizon, giving the longest viewing windows.
- Next new moon 8 November, next full moon 25 October. The darkest skies are in the week around new moon.
Aurora nights in Coldfoot since 1995
Nights when Kp reached 4.7 or more while it was dark here.
Most recent strong nights
- 3 October 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 7 September 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 17 April 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 2 April 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 1 April 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 24 March 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 21 March 2026 · Kp 6.3
- 20 March 2026 · Kp 5.0
Where to watch near Coldfoot
-
Wiseman
Small historic mining village near Dalton Highway Milepost 189, far from the Coldfoot truck-stop lights and the usual destination for local aurora tours. · about 26 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Marion Creek Campground (BLM)
BLM campground at Milepost 180 that offers dark-sky viewing in late August and September before it closes for the season. · about 8 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Arctic Interagency Visitor Center area
Western edge of the Coldfoot settlement, a short walk from camp lights for quick sky checks. · about 1 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Arctic Circle Wayside (Milepost 115)
Signed pull-out with parking at the Arctic Circle, a common stop on aurora tours driving up from Fairbanks. · about 97 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
Local knowledge
- Coldfoot is at Milepost 175 of the Dalton Highway, about 418 km (260 miles) from Fairbanks via the Elliott and Dalton highways, well north of the Arctic Circle.
- Coldfoot Camp lists the aurora season as August 21 to April 21 and sits under the auroral oval.
- The truck stop is brightly lit, so most guided aurora outings head about 26 km north to the tiny settlement of Wiseman for darker skies.
- Many visitors fly in from Fairbanks or join a tour rather than drive, because the road is mostly gravel with few services.
- Late August and September combine early-season auroras with fall colours before winter sets in.
The Dalton Highway is mostly gravel with heavy truck traffic and no services between Coldfoot and Deadhorse; most rental-car companies prohibit driving it.
Cell service is very limited; carry winter survival gear and plan fuel stops carefully.
Marion Creek Campground is seasonal (roughly mid-May to September); check BLM dates before relying on it.
Practical information
- Typical low / high in March
- -23° / -13°C
- What to wear
- Extreme cold: insulated boots, down jacket, two layers of wool, face protection, chemical hand warmers. 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 Coldfoot?
Coldfoot sits right under the auroral oval: on clear, dark nights the aurora is often overhead, even when activity is quiet. Clouds matter far more than the Kp number here.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Coldfoot?
Around Coldfoot the aurora is often right overhead. Start by facing north-north-east, but look up and all around — in strong storms it can fill the whole sky and even appear behind you.
What is the best month to see the aurora in Coldfoot?
Over 2005–2025, March gave the best odds in Coldfoot (78% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by January (76%).
When is the aurora season in Coldfoot?
From 16 April to 26 August the sky in Coldfoot never gets dark enough. Outside that period the aurora can be seen whenever activity and clouds allow.
Is there much light pollution in Coldfoot?
Almost no artificial light: faint aurora and the Milky Way are easy to see.
When was the aurora last possible in Coldfoot?
Activity last reached storm level (Kp 5 or more) during darkness in Coldfoot on 3 October 2026 (Kp 5.0) — 624 such nights since 1995. Here the aurora also appears on many quieter nights.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Coldfoot share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Wiseman 18 km
- Nolan 25 km