Iowa, United StatesMagnetic latitude 50.1°Population 1,589333 m above sea level
Can you see the northern lights in Corydon?
From Corydon the aurora is seen only during geomagnetic storms (about Kp 6 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) was reached during darkness here on 219 nights.
Right now
Quiet right now (Kp 2.7).
Updates every minute while this page is open.
Tonight in one minute
Not tonight
- Solar activity Too weak: Kp 3.3 expected, 6 needed here.
- Sky Mostly clear (0% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 19:22 to 06:33. A bright moon (84%) washes out faint displays.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
Saturday 31 October — Photos only · Kp 5 · best around 00:00 · Forecast cloud: 55%. · 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 05:14 local time
Unlikely
Best around 05:00. Forecast max Kp 3.3 (this place needs 6), average cloud 0%.
- Dark enough
- 19:22 – 06:33
- Sunset
- 18:22 · sunrise 07:33
- Moon
- 84% · ↑ 16:31 · ↓ 03:33
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 6
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 4.3 (a red glow low in the north).
- Look towards
- north (4°)
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 | Thu, 05 | Thu, 20 | Thu, 23 | Fri, 02 | Fri, 05 | Fri, 20 | Fri, 23 | Sat, 02 | Sat, 05 | Sat, 20 | Sat, 23 | Sun, 02 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Mid cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 1% | 5% | 9% | 0% | 12% | 75% | 37% | 79% | 100% |
| High cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 32% | 67% | 79% | 58% | 100% | 69% | 48% |
| Temperature | 12 °C | 18 °C | 16 °C | 14 °C | 12 °C | 18 °C | 17 °C | 16 °C | 14 °C | 19 °C | 18 °C | 16 °C |
| Feels like | 12 °C | 18 °C | 16 °C | 14 °C | 12 °C | 18 °C | 17 °C | 16 °C | 14 °C | 19 °C | 18 °C | 16 °C |
| Wind | 2 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 4 m/s | 5 m/s | 5 m/s | 5 m/s | 4 m/s | 4 m/s | 4 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 Corydon
The aurora only shows through clear skies, so the weather matters as much as the Kp index. Here is the general forecast for Corydon: temperature, wind and the chance of rain for the coming days.
Planning further ahead? See the hour-by-hour weather forecast for Corydon on Atlas of Seasons.
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What you would see from Corydon
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 | -2° | 2° | 1,379 km |
| 3 | Below the horizon | 0° | 4° | 1,156 km |
| 4 | Below the horizon | 2° | 8° | 934 km |
| 5 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 5° | 12° | 712 km |
| 6 | Visible to the north | 10° | 20° | 489 km |
| 7 | Visible to the north | 20° | 35° | 267 km |
| 8 | Visible to the north | 67° | 77° | 44 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 next 24 h Bright in the Arctic; low on the horizon in central Scandinavia and southern Iceland.
- Kp 4 Active camera in Corydon 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) eye in Corydon 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
Rural to suburban. Some sky glow from nearby lights. Moderate displays are fine; faint ones are easier a few kilometres out.
A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the south-south-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 horizon towards the north is open (terrain below 0.0°), so low aurora is not blocked.
From elevation data (AWS Terrain Tiles) along seven lines of sight up to 30 km.
Best months to see the aurora in Corydon
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
May has been the best month (2% of nights), followed by September (2%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 2% | 77% | 9.6 h | 14° / 26°C |
| October | 1% | 67% | 10.9 h | 6° / 18°C |
| November | 2% | 62% | 12.0 h | -1° / 10°C |
| December | 0.6% | 45% | 12.5 h | -6° / 2°C |
| January | 0.5% | 52% | 12.3 h | -10° / -1°C |
| February | 0.7% | 58% | 11.1 h | -8° / 2°C |
| March | 0.8% | 54% | 9.9 h | -1° / 11°C |
| April | 1% | 58% | 8.5 h | 4° / 17°C |
Aurora nights in Corydon since 1995
Nights when Kp reached 6 or more while it was dark here.
Most recent strong nights
- 3 July 2026 · Kp 7.0
- 21 March 2026 · Kp 6.3
- 20 March 2026 · Kp 7.0
- 13 March 2026 · Kp 6.0
- 20 January 2026 · Kp 7.3
- 19 January 2026 · Kp 7.7
- 10 December 2025 · Kp 6.0
- 12 November 2025 · Kp 7.3
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Des Moines International Airport (DSM) · 91 km
- Typical low / high in May
- 11° / 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 Corydon?
From Corydon the aurora is seen only during geomagnetic storms (about Kp 6 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 Corydon?
Face north (about 4° from true north). At Kp 6 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 10° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
What is the best month to see the aurora in Corydon?
Over 2005–2025, May gave the best odds in Corydon (2% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by September (2%).
When is the aurora season in Corydon?
Corydon 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 Corydon?
Some sky glow from nearby lights. Moderate displays are fine; faint ones are easier a few kilometres out. A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the south-south-east.
When was the aurora last possible in Corydon?
The most recent night in our data when activity reached the level Corydon needs, during darkness, was 3 July 2026 (Kp 7.0). It has happened on 219 nights since 1995.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Corydon share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Wayne County 2 km
- Township of Corydon 4 km
- Township of Benton 6 km
- Peoria 6 km
- Allerton 7 km
- Bridgeport 7 km
- Harvard 9 km
- Township of Jackson 9 km
- Millerton 10 km
- Township of Warren 10 km
- Cambria 11 km
- Hodge 11 km
- Ovia 11 km
- New York 12 km
- Saxon 12 km
- Township of Union 12 km
- Township of Washington 12 km
- Bethelhem 13 km
- Promise City 14 km
- Sewal 14 km
- Township of South Fork 14 km
- Township of Clay 15 km
- Township of Walnut 16 km
- Clinton Center 17 km
- Township of Clinton 17 km
- Township of Howard 17 km
- Township of Jefferson 17 km
- Clio 18 km
- Township of Wright 18 km
- Humeston 19 km
- Township of Richman 19 km
- Seymour 19 km
- Confidence 20 km
- Township of Monroe 21 km
- Township of Grand River 22 km
- Powersville 23 km
- Genoa 24 km
- Cleopatra 24 km
- Galesburg 26 km
- Saint John 26 km