Minnesota, United StatesMagnetic latitude 57.0°Population 8,752345 m above sea level
Northern lights in Thief River Falls
From Thief River Falls the aurora is visible on most active nights — first low to the north, from about Kp 2.7.
Right now
It is still light here. Darkness starts at 19:41.
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 1.7 expected, 1 needed for photos, 2.7 for the eye.
- Sky Mostly clear (19% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 19:41 to 06:39.
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.
- Detailed forecast Fri 16 1.7 Photos only · Kp 1.7
- Sat 17 1.7 Photos only · Kp 1.7
- 27-day trend Sun 18 2 Unlikely · Kp 2
- Mon 19 2 Photos only · Kp 2
- Tue 20 3 Good chance · Kp 3
- Wed 21 4 Good chance · Kp 4
- Thu 22 4 Possible · Kp 4
- Fri 23 3 Possible · Kp 3
- Sat 24 2 Photos only · Kp 2
- 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 3 Good chance · Kp 3
- Mon 2 2 Photos only · Kp 2
- Tue 3 2 Photos only · Kp 2
- Wed 4 2 Photos only · Kp 2
- Thu 5 3 Good chance · Kp 3
- Fri 6 3 Good chance · Kp 3
Wednesday 21 October — Good chance · Kp 3 · best around 00:30 · Forecast cloud: 22%. · 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 10:37 local time
Possible
Best around 20:00. Forecast max Kp 1.7 (this place needs 2.7), average cloud 19%.
- Dark enough
- 19:41 – 06:39
- Sunset
- 18:33 · sunrise 07:47
- Moon
- 31% · ↑ 14:20 · ↓ 21:52
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 2.7
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 1 (a red glow low in the north).
- Look towards
- north (6°)
Score = activity (NOAA Kp and OVATION) × clear sky (MET Norway) × darkness × moonlight. Methodology
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What you would see from Thief River Falls
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 | 7° | 15° | 612 km |
| 3 | Visible to the north | 13° | 25° | 389 km |
| 4 | Visible to the north | 31° | 49° | 167 km |
| 5 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 6 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 7 | Overhead, and also to the south | – | – | – |
| 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 Thief River Falls Only under the auroral oval: northern Norway, Swedish and Finnish Lapland, Iceland, Alaska, northern Canada.
- Kp 3 Unsettled eye in Thief River Falls 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) 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
Bright suburban sky. Strong sky glow washes out faint aurora. Head out of town for anything but a bright display.
A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the north. 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 Thief River Falls
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
February has been the best month (33% of nights), followed by September (28%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 28% | 67% | 9.1 h | 10° / 22°C |
| October | 26% | 53% | 10.9 h | 2° / 13°C |
| November | 17% | 41% | 12.1 h | -6° / 3°C |
| December | 17% | 46% | 13.0 h | -15° / -7°C |
| January | 24% | 60% | 12.5 h | -20° / -9°C |
| February | 33% | 68% | 11.4 h | -18° / -7°C |
| March | 28% | 60% | 9.9 h | -8° / 3°C |
| April | 20% | 56% | 7.8 h | -1° / 12°C |
Aurora nights in Thief River Falls 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
- Thief River Falls Regional Airport (TVF) · 6 km
- Typical low / high in February
- -18° / -7°C
- What to wear
- Arctic cold: wool base layers, insulated jacket and trousers, warm boots, hat and mittens. 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 Thief River Falls?
From Thief River Falls the aurora is visible on most active nights — first low to the north, from about Kp 2.7.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Thief River Falls?
Face north (about 6° from true north). At Kp 2.7 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 13° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
What is the best month to see the aurora in Thief River Falls?
Over 2005–2025, February gave the best odds in Thief River Falls (33% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by September (28%).
When is the aurora season in Thief River Falls?
Thief River Falls 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 Thief River Falls?
Strong sky glow washes out faint aurora. Head out of town for anything but a bright display. A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the north.
When was the aurora last possible in Thief River Falls?
Activity last reached storm level (Kp 5 or more) during darkness in Thief River Falls on 4 October 2026 (Kp 5.0) — 922 such nights since 1995. Here the aurora also appears on many quieter nights.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Thief River Falls share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Basswood Court 0 km
- Countryside Mobile Home Park 0 km
- Greendale Manor 0 km
- Northwestern Trailer Court 0 km
- Riverview Mobile Home Park 0 km
- City of Thief River Falls 1 km
- Jamar Mobile Home Park 1 km
- Challenger Court 2 km
- Township of North 3 km
- Dakota Junction 5 km
- Township of Rocksbury 6 km
- Township of Norden 10 km
- Township of Silverton 10 km
- Rosewood 11 km
- Township of Sanders 11 km
- Township of Excel 12 km
- Hazel 12 km
- Pennington County 12 km
- Saint Hilaire 12 km
- City of Saint Hilaire 12 km
- Township of Smiley 12 km
- Northside Trailer Park 12 km
- Township of River Falls 14 km
- Township of New Solum 15 km
- Township of Agder 16 km
- Mavie 18 km
- Township of Wyandotte 18 km
- Holt 19 km
- City of Holt 19 km
- Township of Numedal 19 km
- Township of Bray 20 km
- Carpenters Corner 20 km
- Township of Cloverleaf 20 km
- Viking 20 km
- City of Viking 20 km
- Lilac Ridge Trailer Park 20 km
- Township of Kratka 21 km
- Township of Viking 22 km
- Township of Grand Plain 23 km
- Township of Holt 23 km