Montana, United StatesMagnetic latitude 52.7°Population 2,2221,697 m above sea level
Northern lights in Red Lodge
Red Lodge needs an active night: from about Kp 5 the aurora appears low over the north-north-east horizon, and it rises higher as activity grows. Since 1995 that level (Kp 5) was reached during darkness here on 618 nights.
Right now
Quiet right now (Kp 2.0).
Latest measured half-hour activity worldwide: Hp30 1.3.
Updates every minute while this page is open. Ground data: GFZ Potsdam Hp30 index (CC BY 4.0).
Tonight in one minute
Not tonight
- Solar activity Too weak: Kp 3 expected, 5 needed here.
- Sky Mostly clear (2% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 19:25 to 06:38. A bright moon (76%) washes out faint displays.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
Saturday 31 October — Good chance · Kp 5 · best around 00:30 · No cloud forecast this far ahead; in October about 58% 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 05:27 local time
Unlikely
Best around 05:00. Forecast max Kp 3.0 (this place needs 5), average cloud 2%.
- Dark enough
- 19:25 – 06:38
- Sunset
- 18:21 · sunrise 07:42
- Moon
- 76% · ↑ 16:19 · ↓ 02:26
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 5
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 3.3 (a red glow low in the north-north-east).
- Look towards
- north-north-east (14°)
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, 05 | Wed, 20 | Wed, 23 | Thu, 02 | Thu, 05 | Thu, 20 | Thu, 23 | Fri, 02 | Fri, 05 | Fri, 20 | Fri, 23 | Sat, 02 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 4% | 10% | 9% |
| Mid cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| High cloud | 0% | 12% | 2% | 0% | 0% | 100% | 100% | 70% | 12% | 32% | 91% | 92% |
| Temperature | 7 °C | 14 °C | 12 °C | 11 °C | 10 °C | 14 °C | 13 °C | 11 °C | 10 °C | 9 °C | 4 °C | 2 °C |
| Feels like | 6 °C | 14 °C | 12 °C | 11 °C | 8 °C | 14 °C | 13 °C | 11 °C | 10 °C | 8 °C | 0 °C | -2 °C |
| Wind | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 4 m/s | 4 m/s | 4 m/s | 4 m/s | 4 m/s | 4 m/s | 4 m/s | 2 m/s | 5 m/s | 5 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 Red Lodge
The aurora only shows through clear skies, so the weather matters as much as the Kp index. Here is the general forecast for Red Lodge: temperature, wind and the chance of rain for the coming days.
Planning further ahead? See the hour-by-hour weather forecast for Red Lodge on Atlas of Seasons.
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What you would see from Red Lodge
Facing north-north-east. 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° | 1,090 km |
| 3 | Below the horizon | 3° | 9° | 867 km |
| 4 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 6° | 14° | 645 km |
| 5 | Visible to the north-north-east | 12° | 23° | 423 km |
| 6 | Visible to the north-north-east | 27° | 44° | 200 km |
| 7 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 8 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 9 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-west | – | – | – |
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 camera in Red Lodge 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) eye in Red Lodge 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
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 west-south-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 horizon towards the north-north-east is open (terrain below 1.0°), 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 Red Lodge
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
September has been the best month (4% of nights), followed by May (3%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 4% | 71% | 9.1 h | 9° / 24°C |
| October | 2% | 58% | 10.9 h | 2° / 15°C |
| November | 2% | 45% | 12.0 h | -3° / 7°C |
| December | 2% | 36% | 12.6 h | -8° / 2°C |
| January | 0.3% | 39% | 12.4 h | -8° / 2°C |
| February | 1% | 33% | 11.4 h | -8° / 3°C |
| March | 1% | 41% | 9.9 h | -3° / 9°C |
| April | 1% | 46% | 8.1 h | -1° / 13°C |
Aurora nights in Red Lodge since 1995
Nights when Kp reached 5 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
- Yellowstone Regional Airport (COD) · 76 km
- Typical low / high in September
- 9° / 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 Red Lodge?
Red Lodge needs an active night: from about Kp 5 the aurora appears low over the north-north-east horizon, and it rises higher as activity grows.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Red Lodge?
Face north-north-east (about 14° from true north). At Kp 5 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 Red Lodge?
Over 2005–2025, September gave the best odds in Red Lodge (4% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by May (3%).
When is the aurora season in Red Lodge?
Red Lodge 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 Red Lodge?
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 west-south-west.
When was the aurora last possible in Red Lodge?
The most recent night in our data when activity reached the level Red Lodge needs, during darkness, was 4 October 2026 (Kp 5.0). It has happened on 618 nights since 1995.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Red Lodge share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Mountain View Trailer Court 1 km
- Robinsons Trailer Park 1 km
- Washoe 4 km
- Bearcreek 8 km
- Fox 10 km
- Richel Lodge 15 km
- Carbon County 18 km
- Luther 18 km
- Simpkins Place 19 km
- Belfry 20 km
- Roberts 20 km
- Alex Boggio Place 21 km
- Rankin Place 21 km
- Chance 24 km
- Selmes 25 km
- Bridger 29 km
- Alpine 31 km
- Stones Trailer Park 32 km
- Clark 33 km
- Wade 34 km