Alaska, United StatesMagnetic latitude 60.9°Population 31,55517 m above sea level
Northern lights in Juneau
From Juneau the aurora is visible on most active nights — first low to the north-north-east, from about Kp 2.3.
Right now
Activity is high enough here right now, but the sky is overcast (100 % cloud). Watch for gaps in the clouds and look north-north-east.
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 3.3 expected, 2.3 needed here.
- Sky Overcast (100% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 19:07 to 06:18.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
Saturday 24 October — Possible · Kp 4 · best around 00:00 · Forecast cloud: 5%. · 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 20:25 local time
Unlikely
Best around 20:00. Forecast max Kp 3.3 (this place needs 2.3), average cloud 100%.
- Dark enough
- 19:07 – 06:18
- Sunset
- 17:40 · sunrise 07:45
- Moon
- 64% · ↑ 16:15 · ↓ 00:13
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 2.3 (Kp 0.7 with an open horizon)
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 0.7 (a red glow low in the north-north-east).
- Look towards
- north-north-east (20°)
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 | Mon, 20 | Mon, 23 | Tue, 02 | Tue, 05 | Tue, 20 | Tue, 23 | Wed, 02 | Wed, 05 | Wed, 20 | Wed, 23 | Thu, 02 | Thu, 05 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low cloud | 89% | 100% | 100% | 96% | 59% | 50% | 85% | 98% | 51% | 64% | 78% | 82% |
| Mid cloud | 88% | 100% | 100% | 98% | 37% | 24% | 73% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| High cloud | 39% | 35% | 77% | 100% | 30% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Temperature | 5 °C | 5 °C | 4 °C | 4 °C | 5 °C | 4 °C | 3 °C | 3 °C | 4 °C | 3 °C | 3 °C | 3 °C |
| Feels like | 3 °C | 2 °C | 1 °C | 1 °C | 3 °C | 2 °C | 2 °C | 1 °C | 4 °C | 3 °C | 3 °C | 3 °C |
| Wind | 3 m/s | 4 m/s | 4 m/s | 4 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 1 m/s | 1 m/s | 1 m/s | 1 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 Juneau
The aurora only shows through clear skies, so the weather matters as much as the Kp index. Here is the general forecast for Juneau: temperature, wind and the chance of rain for the coming days.
Planning further ahead? See the hour-by-hour weather forecast for Juneau on Atlas of Seasons.
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What you would see from Juneau
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 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 30° | 47° | 178 km |
| 3 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 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 Juneau camera in Juneau 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
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-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 30° above the horizon towards the north-north-east. That hides low aurora: here you need about Kp 2.3 instead of Kp 0.7. 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 Juneau
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
February has been the best month (21% of nights), followed by March (18%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 11% | 26% | 7.9 h | 6° / 11°C |
| October | 12% | 27% | 10.8 h | 1° / 5°C |
| November | 16% | 36% | 12.8 h | -5° / -1°C |
| December | 14% | 42% | 14.0 h | -8° / -3°C |
| January | 13% | 37% | 13.3 h | -7° / -3°C |
| February | 21% | 47% | 11.5 h | -8° / -3°C |
| March | 18% | 49% | 9.1 h | -6° / 0°C |
| April | 11% | 41% | 6.0 h | -2° / 4°C |
Darkness through the year
- No full darkness (Sun 12° below the horizon) from 16 May to 27 July — 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 Juneau 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
- Juneau International Airport (JNU) · 11 km
- Typical low / high in February
- -8° / -3°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 Juneau?
From Juneau the aurora is visible on most active nights — first low to the north-north-east, from about Kp 2.3.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Juneau?
Around Juneau 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 Juneau?
Over 2005–2025, February gave the best odds in Juneau (21% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by March (18%).
When is the aurora season in Juneau?
From 16 May to 27 July the sky in Juneau never gets dark enough. Outside that period the aurora can be seen whenever activity and clouds allow.
Is there much light pollution in Juneau?
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-east.
When was the aurora last possible in Juneau?
Activity last reached storm level (Kp 5 or more) during darkness in Juneau on 4 October 2026 (Kp 5.0) — 742 such nights since 1995. Here the aurora also appears on many quieter nights.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Juneau share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Starr Hill 1 km
- West Juneau 1 km
- Douglas 3 km
- Vanderbilt Hill 6 km
- Thane 7 km
- Lemon Creek 8 km
- Mendenhaven 13 km
- Mendenhall Valley 13 km
- Juneau City and Borough 14 km
- Auke Bay 17 km
- Fairhaven 19 km
- Lena Beach 22 km
- Tee Harbor 23 km
- Saint Terese 28 km
- Funter 28 km
- Hawk Inlet 28 km
- Dobson Landing 30 km
- Taku Harbor 35 km