Illinois, United StatesMagnetic latitude 47.3°Population 8,891121 m above sea level
Can you see the northern lights in Harrisburg?
Only severe geomagnetic storms (Kp 7.7 or more) bring the aurora into view from Harrisburg — a few nights per solar cycle, low in the north. Since 1995 that level (Kp 7.7) was reached during darkness here on 37 nights.
Right now
Quiet right now (Kp 0.7).
Updates every minute while this page is open.
Tonight in one minute
Not tonight
- Solar activity Too weak: Kp 4.7 expected, 7.7 needed here.
- Sky Mostly clear (0% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 19:05 to 06:12. A bright moon (81%) washes out faint displays.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
Thursday 22 October — No · Kp 4.7 · Forecast cloud: 0%. · Reliability: good
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 20:17 local time
Unlikely
Best around 01:00. Forecast max Kp 4.7 (this place needs 7.7), average cloud 0%.
- Dark enough
- 19:05 – 06:12
- Sunset
- 18:08 · sunrise 07:09
- Moon
- 81% · ↑ 15:46 · ↓ 03:15
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 7.7
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 6 (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 | Wed, 20 | Wed, 23 | Thu, 02 | Thu, 05 | Thu, 21 | Fri, 00 | Fri, 03 | Fri, 06 | Fri, 21 | Sat, 00 | Sat, 03 | Sat, 06 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Mid cloud | 7% | 2% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| High cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Temperature | 16 °C | 14 °C | 13 °C | 11 °C | 16 °C | 14 °C | 12 °C | 11 °C | 15 °C | 13 °C | 11 °C | 10 °C |
| Feels like | 16 °C | 14 °C | 13 °C | 11 °C | 16 °C | 14 °C | 12 °C | 11 °C | 15 °C | 13 °C | 11 °C | 10 °C |
| Wind | 1 m/s | 1 m/s | 1 m/s | 1 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 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 Harrisburg
The aurora only shows through clear skies, so the weather matters as much as the Kp index. Here is the general forecast for Harrisburg: temperature, wind and the chance of rain for the coming days.
Planning further ahead? See the hour-by-hour weather forecast for Harrisburg on Atlas of Seasons.
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What you would see from Harrisburg
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 | -4° | -1° | 1,690 km |
| 3 | Below the horizon | -3° | 1° | 1,468 km |
| 4 | Below the horizon | -1° | 3° | 1,245 km |
| 5 | Below the horizon | 1° | 6° | 1,023 km |
| 6 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 4° | 10° | 801 km |
| 7 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 8° | 16° | 578 km |
| 8 | Visible to the north | 15° | 27° | 356 km |
| 9 | Visible to the north | 37° | 55° | 133 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 Overhead in the Arctic; low in the north from southern Norway, Sweden, Finland and northern Scotland.
- Kp 5 Minor storm (G1) next 24 h Scotland, southern Scandinavia, the Baltic states, the northern US states and southern Canada.
- Kp 6 Moderate storm (G2) camera in Harrisburg 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) eye in Harrisburg 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 Harrisburg
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
Activity of Kp 7.7 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 | 0.3% | 76% | 9.6 h | 16° / 28°C |
| October | 0.3% | 72% | 10.9 h | 9° / 21°C |
| November | 0.3% | 66% | 11.8 h | 2° / 13°C |
| December | 0.2% | 50% | 12.1 h | -2° / 7°C |
| January | 0.2% | 50% | 11.9 h | -5° / 5°C |
| February | 0% | 58% | 11.0 h | -3° / 7°C |
| March | 0% | 54% | 10.1 h | 2° / 14°C |
| April | 0.3% | 60% | 8.6 h | 8° / 19°C |
Aurora nights in Harrisburg since 1995
Nights when Kp reached 7.7 or more while it was dark here.
Most recent strong nights
- 19 January 2026 · Kp 7.7
- 11 November 2025 · Kp 8.7
- 31 May 2025 · Kp 7.7
- 10 October 2024 · Kp 8.3
- 10 May 2024 · Kp 8.3
- 23 April 2023 · Kp 8.0
- 23 March 2023 · Kp 8.0
- 3 November 2021 · Kp 7.7
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Veterans Airport of Southern Illinois (MWA) · 42 km
- Typical low / high in May
- 14° / 24°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 Harrisburg?
Only severe geomagnetic storms (Kp 7.7 or more) bring the aurora into view from Harrisburg — a few nights per solar cycle, low in the north.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Harrisburg?
Face north (about 0° from true north). At Kp 7.7 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 15° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
When is the aurora season in Harrisburg?
Harrisburg 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 Harrisburg?
Strong sky glow washes out faint aurora. Head out of town for anything but a bright display.
When was the aurora last possible in Harrisburg?
The most recent night in our data when activity reached the level Harrisburg needs, during darkness, was 19 January 2026 (Kp 7.7). It has happened on 37 nights since 1995.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Harrisburg share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Township of Harrisburg 1 km
- Dorris Heights 2 km
- Dorrisville 2 km
- Garden Heights 2 km
- Gaskins City 2 km
- Saline County 2 km
- Buena Vista 3 km
- Liberty 3 km
- Pankeyville 3 km
- Muddy 4 km
- Ledford 6 km
- Wasson 7 km
- Township of Cottage 9 km
- Township of Raleigh 9 km
- Carrier Mills 10 km
- Mitchellsville 10 km
- Raleigh 10 km
- Beulah Heights 11 km
- Township of Brushy 11 km
- Township of Carrier Mills 11 km
- Cottage Grove 11 km
- Township of Independence 11 km
- Eldorado 12 km
- Harco 12 km
- Rudement 12 km
- Somerset 12 km
- Township of East Eldorado 13 km
- Galatia 13 km
- Hartford 13 km
- Saline City 13 km
- Township of Mountain 14 km
- Township of Galatia 15 km
- Horseshoe 15 km
- Newcastle 15 km
- Eagle 16 km
- Township of Long Branch 16 km
- Township of Stonefort 16 km
- Long Branch 17 km
- Equality 17 km
- Tison 17 km