Michigan, United StatesMagnetic latitude 55.1°Population 7,504347 m above sea level
Northern lights in Iron Mountain
Iron Mountain needs an active night: from about Kp 3.7 the aurora appears low over the north horizon, and it rises higher as activity grows. Since 1995 that level (Kp 4.7) was reached during darkness here on 942 nights.
Right now
It is still light here. Darkness starts at 19:08.
Updates every minute while this page is open.
Tonight in one minute
Not tonight
- Solar activity Too weak: Kp 1.7 expected, 3.7 needed here.
- Sky Mostly clear (5% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 19:08 to 06:07.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
- Detailed forecast Fri 16 1.7 No · Kp 1.7
- Sat 17 1.7 No · Kp 1.7
- 27-day trend Sun 18 2 Photos only · Kp 2
- Mon 19 2 Photos only · Kp 2
- Tue 20 3 Photos only · Kp 3
- Wed 21 4 Possible · Kp 4
- Thu 22 4 Possible · Kp 4
- Fri 23 4 Possible · Kp 4
- Sat 24 3 Unlikely · Kp 3
- Sun 25 2 Photos only · Kp 2
- Mon 26 2 Photos only · Kp 2
- Tue 27 2 Photos only · Kp 2
- Wed 28 2 Photos only · Kp 2
- Thu 29 2 Photos only · Kp 2
- Fri 30 5 Good chance · Kp 5
- Sat 31 5 Good chance · Kp 5
- Sun 1 5 Possible · Kp 5
- Mon 2 3 Unlikely · Kp 3
- Tue 3 2 Unlikely · Kp 2
- Wed 4 2 Unlikely · Kp 2
- Thu 5 3 Unlikely · Kp 3
- Fri 6 3 Unlikely · Kp 3
- Sat 7 3 Unlikely · Kp 3
Friday 23 October — Possible · Kp 4 · best around 00:00 · Forecast cloud: 8%. · 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 10:39 local time
Unlikely
Best around 21:00. Forecast max Kp 1.7 (this place needs 3.7), average cloud 5%.
- Dark enough
- 19:08 – 06:07
- Sunset
- 18:04 · sunrise 07:11
- Moon
- 31% · ↑ 13:34 · ↓ 21:31
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 3.7
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 2 (a red glow low in the north).
- Look towards
- north (0°)
Score = activity (NOAA Kp and OVATION) × clear sky (MET Norway) × darkness × moonlight. Methodology
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What you would see from Iron Mountain
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 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 4° | 10° | 823 km |
| 3 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 7° | 15° | 600 km |
| 4 | Visible to the north | 14° | 26° | 378 km |
| 5 | Visible to the north | 33° | 51° | 156 km |
| 6 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 7 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 8 | Overhead, and also to the south | – | – | – |
| 9 | Overhead, and also to the south | – | – | – |
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 camera in Iron Mountain 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 eye in Iron Mountain 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) 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
Suburban sky. Noticeable sky glow. Bright displays are visible, but driving out of town makes a clear difference.
A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the north-west. 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 terrain rises to about 3° above the horizon towards the north. That hides low aurora: here you need about Kp 3.7 instead of Kp 3.7. A hilltop, shore or open field with a clear view to the north helps.
From elevation data (AWS Terrain Tiles) along seven lines of sight up to 30 km.
Best months to see the aurora in Iron Mountain
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
September has been the best month (12% of nights), followed by March (10%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 12% | 47% | 9.1 h | 9° / 21°C |
| October | 8% | 38% | 10.9 h | 3° / 13°C |
| November | 4% | 21% | 12.0 h | -4° / 4°C |
| December | 3% | 21% | 12.6 h | -11° / -4°C |
| January | 3% | 23% | 12.4 h | -15° / -7°C |
| February | 6% | 34% | 11.4 h | -15° / -6°C |
| March | 10% | 41% | 9.9 h | -8° / 2°C |
| April | 5% | 29% | 7.9 h | -2° / 10°C |
Aurora nights in Iron Mountain since 1995
Nights when Kp reached 4.7 or more while it was dark here.
Most recent strong nights
- 4 October 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 3 October 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 7 September 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 3 July 2026 · Kp 7.0
- 24 June 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 18 April 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 17 April 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 2 April 2026 · Kp 5.3
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Ford Airport (IMT) · 4 km
- Typical low / high in September
- 9° / 21°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 Iron Mountain?
Iron Mountain needs an active night: from about Kp 3.7 the aurora appears low over the north horizon, and it rises higher as activity grows.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Iron Mountain?
Face north (about 0° from true north). At Kp 3.7 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 14° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
What is the best month to see the aurora in Iron Mountain?
Over 2005–2025, September gave the best odds in Iron Mountain (12% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by March (10%).
When is the aurora season in Iron Mountain?
Iron Mountain 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 Iron Mountain?
Noticeable sky glow. Bright displays are visible, but driving out of town makes a clear difference. A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the north-west.
When was the aurora last possible in Iron Mountain?
Activity last reached storm level (Kp 5 or more) during darkness in Iron Mountain on 4 October 2026 (Kp 5.0) — 942 such nights since 1995. Here the aurora also appears on many quieter nights.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Iron Mountain share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- City of Iron Mountain 1 km
- Antoine 2 km
- Park Ridge Mobile Home Park 2 km
- White Birch Estates 3 km
- Charter Township of Breitung 6 km
- Pulp 7 km
- Spread Eagle 9 km
- Merriman 11 km
- Granite Bluff 13 km
- Township of Norway 14 km
- Town of Commonwealth 14 km
- Hematite 15 km
- Commonwealth 17 km
- Florence 18 km
- Randville 19 km
- Sea Lion Lake 20 km
- Sea Lion Lake 21 km
- Town of Fern 23 km
- Metropolitan 24 km
- Dickinson County 26 km
- Florence County 26 km
- Felch Mountain 27 km
- Felch 27 km
- Theodore 27 km
- Spruce 29 km
- Foster City 30 km
- Township of Breen 33 km
- Township of Felch 33 km
- Hardwood 33 km
- Hylas 34 km
- Vega 36 km
- Helps 38 km
- Ralph 39 km