Georgia, United StatesMagnetic latitude 44.0°Population 8,283303 m above sea level
Can you see the northern lights in Toccoa?
From Toccoa the aurora is too low for the naked eye except in the most extreme storms, but in severe storms (about Kp 7.3 or more) cameras record a red glow low in the north. Strong enough for photos on 54 nights since 1995 — most recently on 20 January 2026.
Right now
Quiet right now (Kp 1.3).
Latest measured half-hour activity worldwide: Hp30 0.7.
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 1.3 expected, 7.3 needed here.
- Sky Mostly clear (13% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 19:50 to 06:46.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
- Detailed forecast Sat 17 2.7 No · Kp 2.7
- Sun 18 1.7 No · Kp 1.7
- 27-day trend Mon 19 2 No · Kp 2
- Tue 20 3 No · Kp 3
- Wed 21 4 No · Kp 4
- Thu 22 4 No · Kp 4
- Fri 23 4 No · Kp 4
- Sat 24 3 No · Kp 3
- Sun 25 2 No · Kp 2
- Mon 26 2 No · Kp 2
- Tue 27 2 No · Kp 2
- Wed 28 2 No · Kp 2
- Thu 29 2 No · Kp 2
- Fri 30 5 No · Kp 5
- Sat 31 5 No · Kp 5
- Sun 1 5 No · Kp 5
- Mon 2 3 No · Kp 3
- Tue 3 2 No · Kp 2
- Wed 4 2 No · Kp 2
- Thu 5 3 No · Kp 3
- Fri 6 3 No · Kp 3
- Sat 7 3 No · Kp 3
Saturday 17 October — No · Kp 2.7 · Forecast cloud: 0%. · 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 06:48 local time
Unlikely
Best around 06:00. Forecast max Kp 1.3 (this place needs 9+), average cloud 13%.
- Dark enough
- 19:50 – 06:46
- Sunset
- 18:56 · sunrise 07:41
- Moon
- 39% · ↑ 14:12 · ↓ 23:55
- 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).
- Look towards
- north (354°)
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 | Sat, 06 | Sat, 22 | Sun, 01 | Sun, 04 | Sun, 20 | Sun, 23 | Mon, 02 | Mon, 05 | Mon, 21 | Tue, 00 | Tue, 03 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Mid cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| High cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 5% |
| Temperature | 11 °C | 12 °C | 9 °C | 8 °C | 12 °C | 10 °C | 7 °C | 6 °C | 12 °C | 10 °C | 10 °C |
| Feels like | 7 °C | 8 °C | 6 °C | 4 °C | 8 °C | 6 °C | 4 °C | 3 °C | 10 °C | 8 °C | 8 °C |
| Wind | 4 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 1 m/s | 1 m/s | 2 m/s |
| Visibility | 32 km | 41 km | 34 km | 31 km | 50 km | 41 km | 27 km | 24 km | 24 km | 24 km | 24 km |
Cloud layers and weather: Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0).
Score = activity (NOAA Kp and OVATION) × clear sky (MET Norway) × darkness × moonlight. Methodology
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What you would see from Toccoa
Facing north. 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° | 2,057 km |
| 3 | Below the horizon | -5° | -2° | 1,835 km |
| 4 | Below the horizon | -4° | 0° | 1,612 km |
| 5 | Below the horizon | -2° | 2° | 1,390 km |
| 6 | Below the horizon | 0° | 4° | 1,168 km |
| 7 | Below the horizon | 2° | 7° | 945 km |
| 8 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 5° | 12° | 723 km |
| 9 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 10° | 19° | 500 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 next 24 h 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 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 Toccoa 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.
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 Toccoa
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% | 68% | 9.8 h | 15° / 27°C |
| October | 0% | 75% | 10.8 h | 9° / 21°C |
| November | 0% | 71% | 11.6 h | 3° / 15°C |
| December | 0% | 56% | 12.1 h | 0° / 10°C |
| January | 0% | 62% | 11.9 h | -2° / 8°C |
| February | 0% | 61% | 11.0 h | 0° / 11°C |
| March | 0% | 59% | 10.3 h | 3° / 15°C |
| April | 0% | 66% | 9.0 h | 7° / 20°C |
Nights when Toccoa could catch it in photos
Since 1995, nights with Kp 7.3 or more while it was dark here — a red or green glow low on the horizon.
- 20 January 2026 · Kp 7.3
- 19 January 2026 · Kp 7.7
- 12 November 2025 · Kp 7.3
- 11 November 2025 · Kp 8.7
- 31 May 2025 · Kp 7.7
- 10 October 2024 · Kp 8.3
- 16 September 2024 · Kp 7.3
- 10 May 2024 · Kp 9.0
- 23 April 2023 · Kp 8.0
- 23 March 2023 · Kp 8.0
- 3 November 2021 · Kp 7.7
- 25 August 2018 · Kp 7.3
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) · 145 km
- Typical low / high in January
- -2° / 8°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 Toccoa?
From Toccoa the aurora is too low for the naked eye except in the most extreme storms, but in severe storms (about Kp 7.3 or more) cameras record a red glow low in the north.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Toccoa?
Around Toccoa the aurora is often right overhead. Start by facing north, but look up and all around — in strong storms it can fill the whole sky and even appear behind you.
When is the aurora season in Toccoa?
Toccoa 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 Toccoa?
Strong sky glow washes out faint aurora. Head out of town for anything but a bright display.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Toccoa share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- City of Toccoa 1 km
- Fowlertown 3 km
- Toccoa Falls 3 km
- Carnes Creek 4 km
- Stephens County 4 km
- Boydville 5 km
- Hayes Crossing 6 km
- Ayersville 8 km
- Fighting Pine 8 km
- Midway 8 km
- Dicks Hill 9 km
- Eastanollee 9 km
- Jarrett 9 km
- Union Hill 9 km
- Martin-Avalon 10 km
- Mize 12 km
- Rock Creek 12 km
- Hollywood 13 km
- New Switzerland 13 km
- Madison 13 km
- Old Madison 13 km
- Toms Creek 14 km
- Avalon 15 km
- Shorts Mill 15 km
- Stottsville 15 km
- Tugaloo 15 km
- Turnerville 15 km
- Dixon Crossroads 16 km
- Fairview 16 km
- Prospect 16 km
- Hills 17 km
- Martin 17 km
- Mount Airy 17 km
- Red Hill 17 km
- Shirley Grove 17 km
- Uvena 17 km
- Dixon Crossroads 17 km
- Clarkesville 18 km
- Tabor 18 km
- City of Clarkesville 18 km