California, United StatesMagnetic latitude 44.1°Population 15,182432 m above sea level
Can you see the northern lights in Clearlake?
Only severe geomagnetic storms (Kp 9 or more) bring the aurora into view from Clearlake — a few nights per solar cycle, low in the north-north-east. Since 1995 that level (Kp 9) was reached during darkness here on 2 nights.
Right now
It is still light here. Darkness starts at 19:22.
Latest measured half-hour activity worldwide: Hp30 2.7.
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 Too weak: Kp 3.7 expected, 9 needed here.
- Sky Overcast (97% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 19:22 to 06:28.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
Tuesday 20 October — No · Kp 3.7 · Forecast cloud: 97%. · Reliability: medium
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 07:20 local time
Unlikely
Best around 19:00. Forecast max Kp 3.7 (this place needs 9), average cloud 97%.
- Dark enough
- 19:22 – 06:28
- Sunset
- 18:24 · sunrise 07:26
- Moon
- 68% · ↑ 15:42 · ↓ 01:29
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 9
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 7.3 (a red glow low in the north-north-east).
- Look towards
- north-north-east (14°)
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 | Tue, 19 | Tue, 22 | Wed, 01 | Wed, 04 | Wed, 19 | Wed, 22 | Thu, 01 | Thu, 04 | Thu, 19 | Thu, 22 | Fri, 01 | Fri, 04 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 2% | 5% | 11% | 19% | 67% | 78% | 78% | 70% |
| Mid cloud | 70% | 65% | 61% | 56% | 54% | 44% | 32% | 21% | 47% | 8% | 0% | 0% |
| High cloud | 99% | 100% | 87% | 61% | 58% | 43% | 20% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Temperature | 19 °C | 15 °C | 13 °C | 13 °C | 17 °C | 14 °C | 13 °C | 12 °C | 14 °C | 12 °C | 12 °C | 11 °C |
| Feels like | 19 °C | 15 °C | 13 °C | 13 °C | 17 °C | 14 °C | 13 °C | 12 °C | 14 °C | 12 °C | 12 °C | 11 °C |
| Wind | 1 m/s | 1 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 | 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 Clearlake
The aurora only shows through clear skies, so the weather matters as much as the Kp index. Here is the general forecast for Clearlake: temperature, wind and the chance of rain for the coming days.
Planning further ahead? See the hour-by-hour weather forecast for Clearlake on Atlas of Seasons.
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What you would see from Clearlake
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 | Below the horizon | -6° | -4° | 2,046 km |
| 3 | Below the horizon | -5° | -2° | 1,824 km |
| 4 | Below the horizon | -3° | 0° | 1,601 km |
| 5 | Below the horizon | -2° | 2° | 1,379 km |
| 6 | Below the horizon | 0° | 4° | 1,156 km |
| 7 | Below the horizon | 2° | 8° | 934 km |
| 8 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 5° | 12° | 712 km |
| 9 | Visible to the north-north-east | 10° | 20° | 489 km |
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 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) camera in Clearlake 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) eye in Clearlake Seen across Europe and the US; in photos as far south as the Mediterranean, Turkey and North Africa (May 2024).
Light pollution
Rural to suburban. Some sky glow from nearby lights. Moderate displays are fine; faint ones are easier a few kilometres out.
Estimate from NASA VIIRS night-light data (sky-glow model within 50 km). Check access and private land before you go.
Hills and mountains
Terrain is not modelled for this place.
From elevation data (AWS Terrain Tiles) along seven lines of sight up to 30 km.
Best months to see the aurora in Clearlake
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
Activity of Kp 9 or more is too rare here for monthly odds to be meaningful. The table still shows how often nights are clear and dark.
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 0% | 96% | 9.6 h | 14° / 29°C |
| October | 0% | 87% | 10.9 h | 10° / 24°C |
| November | 0% | 71% | 11.9 h | 6° / 17°C |
| December | 0% | 60% | 12.4 h | 4° / 12°C |
| January | 0% | 60% | 12.0 h | 4° / 12°C |
| February | 0% | 66% | 11.0 h | 4° / 13°C |
| March | 0% | 63% | 10.0 h | 5° / 14°C |
| April | 0% | 75% | 8.5 h | 6° / 17°C |
Aurora nights in Clearlake since 1995
Nights when Kp reached 9 or more while it was dark here.
Most recent strong nights
- 10 May 2024 · Kp 9.0
- 28 October 2003 · Kp 9.0
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport (STS) · 53 km
Sacramento International Airport (SMF) · 94 km - Typical low / high in May
- 9° / 22°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 Clearlake?
Only severe geomagnetic storms (Kp 9 or more) bring the aurora into view from Clearlake — a few nights per solar cycle, low in the north-north-east.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Clearlake?
Face north-north-east (about 14° from true north). At Kp 9 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 10° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
When is the aurora season in Clearlake?
Clearlake 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 Clearlake?
Some sky glow from nearby lights. Moderate displays are fine; faint ones are easier a few kilometres out.
When was the aurora last possible in Clearlake?
The most recent night in our data when activity reached the level Clearlake needs, during darkness, was 10 May 2024 (Kp 9.0). It has happened on 2 nights since 1995.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Clearlake share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Clearlake Highlands 1 km
- City of Clearlake 1 km
- Clearlake Park 2 km
- Lower Lake 5 km
- Clear Lake Keys 8 km
- Clear Lake Riviera 8 km
- Twin Lakes 8 km
- Clearlake Oaks 9 km
- Riviera Estates 10 km
- Riviera West 11 km
- Seigler Springs 11 km
- Bonanza Springs 12 km
- Glenhaven 12 km
- Howard Springs 12 km
- Mount Hannah Lodge 12 km
- Buckingham Park 13 km
- Ettawa Springs 13 km
- Glenview 13 km
- Loch Lomond 13 km
- Salminas Resort 13 km
- Sunrise Vista 13 km
- Adams 14 km
- Hobergs 15 km
- Glenbrook 16 km
- Cobb 17 km
- Forest Lake 17 km
- Pine Grove 17 km
- Hidden Valley Lake 18 km
- Whispering Pines 18 km
- Harbin Springs Annex 19 km
- Caldwell Pines 20 km
- Wilbur Springs 20 km
- Lucerne-Clearlake Oaks 20 km
- Hough Springs 23 km
- Knoxville 29 km
- Pole Garden 29 km
- Leesville 31 km