Minnesota, United StatesMagnetic latitude 52.8°Population 10,221361 m above sea level
Northern lights in Fairmont, Minnesota
Fairmont needs an active night: from about Kp 4.7 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 935 nights.
Right now
It is still light here. Darkness starts at 19:27.
Updates every minute while this page is open.
Tonight in one minute
Only in photos, if at all
- Solar activity Enough for a camera: Kp 3.7 expected, 3 needed for photos, 4.7 for the eye.
- Sky Mostly clear (27% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 19:27 to 06:38. A bright moon (77%) washes out faint displays.
What to do: Point a phone in night mode north (3–10 s exposure). A red or green glow often shows on the screen before you can see it.
Saturday 31 October — Good chance · Kp 5 · best around 00:30 · No cloud forecast this far ahead; in October about 63% 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 08:35 local time
Unlikely
Best around 00:00. Forecast max Kp 3.7 (this place needs 4.7), average cloud 27%.
- Dark enough
- 19:27 – 06:38
- Sunset
- 18:24 · sunrise 07:40
- Moon
- 77% · ↑ 16:17 · ↓ 03:35
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 4.7
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 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 | Wed, 19 | Wed, 22 | Thu, 01 | Thu, 04 | Thu, 19 | Thu, 22 | Fri, 01 | Fri, 04 | Fri, 19 | Fri, 22 | Sat, 01 | Sat, 04 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Mid cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 5% | 4% | 4% | 6% | 16% | 24% | 38% | 46% |
| High cloud | 49% | 28% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 1% | 2% | 6% | 100% | 82% | 48% | 24% |
| Temperature | 17 °C | 15 °C | 14 °C | 12 °C | 19 °C | 17 °C | 15 °C | 14 °C | 21 °C | 20 °C | 19 °C | 18 °C |
| Feels like | 17 °C | 15 °C | 14 °C | 12 °C | 19 °C | 17 °C | 15 °C | 14 °C | 21 °C | 20 °C | 19 °C | 18 °C |
| Wind | 1 m/s | 1 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 4 m/s | 4 m/s | 4 m/s | 5 m/s | 8 m/s | 8 m/s | 9 m/s | 8 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 Fairmont
The aurora only shows through clear skies, so the weather matters as much as the Kp index. Here is the general forecast for Fairmont: temperature, wind and the chance of rain for the coming days.
Planning further ahead? See the hour-by-hour weather forecast for Fairmont on Atlas of Seasons.
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What you would see from Fairmont
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 | 1° | 5° | 1,079 km |
| 3 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 3° | 9° | 856 km |
| 4 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 6° | 14° | 634 km |
| 5 | Visible to the north | 12° | 24° | 411 km |
| 6 | Visible to the north | 28° | 45° | 189 km |
| 7 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 8 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 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 Only under the auroral oval: northern Norway, Swedish and Finnish Lapland, Iceland, Alaska, northern Canada.
- Kp 3 Unsettled camera in Fairmont Bright in the Arctic; low on the horizon in central Scandinavia and southern Iceland.
- Kp 4 Active next 24 h Overhead in the Arctic; low in the north from southern Norway, Sweden, Finland and northern Scotland.
- Kp 5 Minor storm (G1) eye in Fairmont 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-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 0.2°), 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 Fairmont
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
September has been the best month (7% of nights), followed by March (5%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 7% | 75% | 9.3 h | 12° / 24°C |
| October | 5% | 63% | 10.9 h | 4° / 15°C |
| November | 4% | 55% | 12.0 h | -3° / 6°C |
| December | 2% | 44% | 12.6 h | -10° / -2°C |
| January | 2% | 58% | 12.4 h | -14° / -5°C |
| February | 4% | 64% | 11.4 h | -13° / -2°C |
| March | 5% | 54% | 9.9 h | -4° / 7°C |
| April | 4% | 56% | 8.3 h | 1° / 14°C |
Aurora nights in Fairmont 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
- Mason City Municipal Airport (MCW) · 107 km
- Typical low / high in September
- 12° / 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 Fairmont?
Fairmont needs an active night: from about Kp 4.7 the aurora appears low over the north horizon, and it rises higher as activity grows.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Fairmont?
Face north (about 4° from true north). At Kp 4.7 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 12° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
What is the best month to see the aurora in Fairmont?
Over 2005–2025, September gave the best odds in Fairmont (7% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by March (5%).
When is the aurora season in Fairmont?
Fairmont 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 Fairmont?
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-east.
When was the aurora last possible in Fairmont?
The most recent night in our data when activity reached the level Fairmont needs, during darkness, was 4 October 2026 (Kp 5.0). It has happened on 935 nights since 1995.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Fairmont share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- City of Fairmont 1 km
- Fairmont Estates 2 km
- Township of Fairmont 5 km
- Martin County 8 km
- Township of Rolling Green 8 km
- Township of Rutland 8 km
- Imogene 9 km
- City of Northrop 9 km
- Township of Fraser 10 km
- Granada 10 km
- City of Granada 10 km
- Northrop 10 km
- Township of Silver Lake 12 km
- East Chain 13 km
- Elm Tree Mobile Home Park 13 km
- Township of Pleasant Prairie 13 km
- Welcome 13 km
- City of Welcome 13 km
- Township of Center Creek 14 km
- Township of Tenhassen 14 km
- Wilbert 14 km
- Township of East Chain 17 km
- Ceylon 19 km
- City of Ceylon 19 km
- Township of Iowa Lake 21 km
- Township of Eagle 22 km
- Pilot Grove 23 km
- Township of Lincoln 24 km
- Township of Galena 24 km
- Dolliver 25 km
- Township of Grant 26 km
- Armstrong 29 km
- Township of Armstrong Grove 30 km
- Gridley 30 km
- Township of Swea 30 km
- Swea City 32 km
- Halfa 34 km
- Township of Harrison 34 km
- Ledyard 35 km
- Gerled 37 km