Alaska, United StatesMagnetic latitude 58.5°Population 8,1978 m above sea level
Northern lights in Ketchikan
From Ketchikan the aurora is visible on most active nights — first low to the north-north-east, from about Kp 2.7.
Right now
It is still light here. Darkness starts at 19:03.
Updates every minute while this page is open.
Tonight in one minute
Not tonight
- Solar activity Enough for a camera: Kp 1.7 expected, 1 needed for photos, 2.7 for the eye.
- Sky Overcast (98% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 19:03 to 06:01.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
- Detailed forecast Fri 16 1.7 Unlikely · Kp 1.7
- Sat 17 1.7 Unlikely · Kp 1.7
- 27-day trend Sun 18 2 Unlikely · Kp 2
- Mon 19 2 Unlikely · Kp 2
- Tue 20 3 Possible · Kp 3
- Wed 21 4 Good chance · Kp 4
- Thu 22 4 Possible · Kp 4
- Fri 23 3 Possible · Kp 3
- Sat 24 2 Photos only · Kp 2
- Sun 25 2 Photos only · Kp 2
- Mon 26 2 Photos only · Kp 2
- Tue 27 2 Photos only · Kp 2
- Wed 28 2 Photos only · Kp 2
- Thu 29 2 Photos only · Kp 2
- Fri 30 5 Good chance · Kp 5
- Sat 31 5 Good chance · Kp 5
- Sun 1 3 Possible · Kp 3
- Mon 2 2 Unlikely · Kp 2
- Tue 3 2 Unlikely · Kp 2
- Wed 4 2 Unlikely · Kp 2
- Thu 5 3 Possible · Kp 3
- Fri 6 3 Possible · Kp 3
Thursday 22 October — Good chance · Kp 4 · best around 00:00 · Forecast cloud: 57%. · 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 07:35 local time
Unlikely
Best around 04:00. Forecast max Kp 1.7 (this place needs 2.7), average cloud 98%.
- Dark enough
- 19:03 – 06:01
- Sunset
- 17:43 · sunrise 07:21
- Moon
- 31% · ↑ 14:42 · ↓ 20:25
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 2.7 (Kp 2 with an open horizon)
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 1 (a red glow low in the north-north-east).
- Look towards
- north-north-east (18°)
Score = activity (NOAA Kp and OVATION) × clear sky (MET Norway) × darkness × moonlight. Methodology
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What you would see from Ketchikan
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 | 11° | 22° | 445 km |
| 3 | Visible to the north-north-east | 24° | 41° | 222 km |
| 4 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 5 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 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 next 24 h camera in Ketchikan Only under the auroral oval: northern Norway, Swedish and Finnish Lapland, Iceland, Alaska, northern Canada.
- Kp 3 Unsettled eye in Ketchikan 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 11° above the horizon towards the north-north-east. That hides low aurora: here you need about Kp 2.7 instead of Kp 2. 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 Ketchikan
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
February has been the best month (18% of nights), followed by October (14%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 11% | 31% | 8.4 h | 10° / 14°C |
| October | 14% | 30% | 10.8 h | 7° / 10°C |
| November | 11% | 27% | 12.6 h | 3° / 6°C |
| December | 10% | 34% | 13.6 h | 1° / 4°C |
| January | 10% | 29% | 13.1 h | 1° / 4°C |
| February | 18% | 41% | 11.4 h | 0° / 4°C |
| March | 13% | 36% | 9.4 h | 2° / 5°C |
| April | 9% | 35% | 6.5 h | 4° / 8°C |
Darkness through the year
- No full darkness (Sun 12° below the horizon) from 1 June to 12 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 Ketchikan 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
- 3 July 2026 · Kp 6.3
- 18 April 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 17 April 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 2 April 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 1 April 2026 · Kp 5.0
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Ketchikan International Airport (KTN) · 4 km
- Typical low / high in February
- 0° / 4°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
- 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 Ketchikan?
From Ketchikan the aurora is visible on most active nights — first low to the north-north-east, from about Kp 2.7.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Ketchikan?
Face north-north-east (about 18° from true north). At Kp 2.7 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 24° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
What is the best month to see the aurora in Ketchikan?
Over 2005–2025, February gave the best odds in Ketchikan (18% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by October (14%).
When is the aurora season in Ketchikan?
From 1 June to 12 July the sky in Ketchikan never gets dark enough. Outside that period the aurora can be seen whenever activity and clouds allow.
Is there much light pollution in Ketchikan?
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 Ketchikan?
Activity last reached storm level (Kp 5 or more) during darkness in Ketchikan on 4 October 2026 (Kp 5.0) — 812 such nights since 1995. Here the aurora also appears on many quieter nights.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Ketchikan share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Pennock Island 2 km
- Carlanna 3 km
- Saxman 4 km
- Dairy 6 km
- Shoreline Drive 6 km
- Peninsula Point 7 km
- Herring Cove 8 km
- Mountain Point 9 km
- Refuge Cove 9 km
- Ward Cove 9 km
- Mud Bay 12 km
- Beaver Falls 12 km
- Port Higgins 16 km
- Clover Pass 17 km
- Ketchikan Gateway Borough 23 km
- Loring 29 km