Illinois, United StatesMagnetic latitude 49.3°Population 73,254205 m above sea level
Can you see the northern lights in Decatur, Illinois?
From Decatur the aurora is seen only during geomagnetic storms (about Kp 6.7 or more), usually as a glow low in the north. Cameras often pick it up before the eye does. Since 1995 that level (Kp 6.7) was reached during darkness here on 109 nights.
Right now
It is still light here. Darkness starts at 19:09.
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 Too weak: Kp 4.7 expected, 6.7 needed here.
- Sky Partly cloudy (68% cloud) — look for gaps.
- Darkness Dark from 19:09 to 06:12.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
Saturday 31 October — Photos only · Kp 5 · best around 00:00 · No cloud forecast this far ahead; in October about 69% of nights are clear here. · 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 16:03 local time
Unlikely
Best around 19:00. Forecast max Kp 4.7 (this place needs 6.7), average cloud 68%.
- Dark enough
- 19:09 – 06:12
- Sunset
- 18:10 · sunrise 07:11
- Moon
- 62% · ↑ 15:00 · ↓ 01:07
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 6.7
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 5 (a red glow low in the north).
- Look towards
- north (0°)
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, 19 | Mon, 22 | Tue, 01 | Tue, 04 | Tue, 19 | Tue, 22 | Wed, 01 | Wed, 04 | Wed, 19 | Wed, 22 | Thu, 01 | Thu, 04 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Mid cloud | 17% | 41% | 59% | 47% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 2% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| High cloud | 24% | 32% | 35% | 18% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Temperature | 14 °C | 13 °C | 12 °C | 10 °C | 16 °C | 13 °C | 12 °C | 10 °C | 17 °C | 15 °C | 13 °C | 11 °C |
| Feels like | 14 °C | 13 °C | 12 °C | 9 °C | 16 °C | 13 °C | 12 °C | 9 °C | 17 °C | 15 °C | 13 °C | 11 °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 | 1 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 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 Decatur
The aurora only shows through clear skies, so the weather matters as much as the Kp index. Here is the general forecast for Decatur: temperature, wind and the chance of rain for the coming days.
Planning further ahead? See the hour-by-hour weather forecast for Decatur on Atlas of Seasons.
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What you would see from Decatur
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 | -3° | 1° | 1,468 km |
| 3 | Below the horizon | -1° | 3° | 1,245 km |
| 4 | Below the horizon | 1° | 6° | 1,023 km |
| 5 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 4° | 10° | 801 km |
| 6 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 8° | 16° | 578 km |
| 7 | Visible to the north | 15° | 27° | 356 km |
| 8 | Visible to the north | 37° | 55° | 133 km |
| 9 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
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 Overhead in the Arctic; low in the north from southern Norway, Sweden, Finland and northern Scotland.
- Kp 5 Minor storm (G1) next 24 h camera in Decatur 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) eye in Decatur 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
City sky. City lights hide all but the brightest displays. Plan to leave the urban area.
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 Decatur
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
September has been the best month (2% of nights), followed by October (1%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 2% | 75% | 9.6 h | 14° / 27°C |
| October | 0.8% | 69% | 10.9 h | 7° / 19°C |
| November | 0.6% | 62% | 12.0 h | 0° / 11°C |
| December | 0.2% | 40% | 12.4 h | -4° / 4°C |
| January | 0.3% | 47% | 12.1 h | -7° / 1°C |
| February | 0.2% | 53% | 11.0 h | -7° / 4°C |
| March | 0.2% | 56% | 9.9 h | 0° / 11°C |
| April | 0.6% | 59% | 8.5 h | 5° / 18°C |
Aurora nights in Decatur since 1995
Nights when Kp reached 6.7 or more while it was dark here.
Most recent strong nights
- 3 July 2026 · Kp 7.0
- 20 March 2026 · Kp 7.0
- 20 January 2026 · Kp 7.3
- 19 January 2026 · Kp 7.7
- 12 November 2025 · Kp 7.3
- 11 November 2025 · Kp 8.7
- 5 November 2025 · Kp 6.7
- 1 October 2025 · Kp 6.7
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Decatur Airport (DEC) · 8 km
- Typical low / high in September
- 14° / 27°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 Decatur?
From Decatur the aurora is seen only during geomagnetic storms (about Kp 6.7 or more), usually as a glow low in the north. Cameras often pick it up before the eye does.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Decatur?
Face north (about 0° from true north). At Kp 6.7 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 15° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
What is the best month to see the aurora in Decatur?
Over 2005–2025, September gave the best odds in Decatur (2% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by October (1%).
When is the aurora season in Decatur?
Decatur 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 Decatur?
City lights hide all but the brightest displays. Plan to leave the urban area.
When was the aurora last possible in Decatur?
The most recent night in our data when activity reached the level Decatur needs, during darkness, was 3 July 2026 (Kp 7.0). It has happened on 109 nights since 1995.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Decatur share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Township of Decatur 1 km
- Longview Place 1 km
- Macon County 2 km
- Larkdale 6 km
- Turpin 6 km
- Wyckles 6 km
- Wyckles Corners 6 km
- Bulldog Crossing 7 km
- Elwin 7 km
- Township of South Wheatland 7 km
- Bearsdale 8 km
- Township of Hickory Point 9 km
- Sangamon 9 km
- Forsyth 10 km
- Long Creek 10 km
- Mount Zion 10 km
- Harristown 11 km
- Township of Harristown 11 km
- Township of Long Creek 11 km
- Boody 12 km
- Hervey City 13 km
- Oakley 13 km
- Oreana 13 km
- Township of Blue Mound 14 km
- Township of Illini 14 km
- Township of Oakley 14 km
- Warrensburg 14 km
- Township of Whitmore 14 km
- Blackland 15 km
- Casner 15 km
- Emery 15 km
- Macon 15 km
- Township of Mount Zion 15 km
- Chapin 16 km
- Township of South Macon 16 km
- Prairie Hall 17 km
- Heman 18 km
- Niantic 18 km
- Argenta 19 km
- Dalton City 19 km