Nebraska, United StatesMagnetic latitude 50.2°Population 3,551755 m above sea level
Can you see the northern lights in Broken Bow?
From Broken Bow 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 213 nights.
Right now
It is still light here. Darkness starts at 19:52.
Latest measured half-hour activity worldwide: Hp30 0.7.
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 2.7 expected, 6 needed here.
- Sky Mostly clear (34% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 19:52 to 06:54.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
Monday 19 October — Photos only · Kp 4.7 · best around 23:30 · Forecast cloud: 0%. · Reliability: medium
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 17:15 local time
Unlikely
Best around 19:00. Forecast max Kp 2.7 (this place needs 6), average cloud 34%.
- Dark enough
- 19:52 – 06:54
- Sunset
- 18:52 · sunrise 07:55
- Moon
- 53% · ↑ 15:18 · ↓ 00:43
- 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 (8°)
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 | Sun, 20 | Sun, 23 | Mon, 02 | Mon, 05 | Mon, 21 | Tue, 00 | Tue, 03 | Tue, 06 | Tue, 22 | Wed, 01 | Wed, 04 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Mid cloud | 0% | 0% | 7% | 41% | 6% | 1% | 0% | 0% | 13% | 21% | 12% |
| High cloud | 100% | 100% | 95% | 68% | 11% | 2% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Temperature | 15 °C | 12 °C | 10 °C | 8 °C | 13 °C | 11 °C | 9 °C | 8 °C | 15 °C | 13 °C | 12 °C |
| Feels like | 15 °C | 12 °C | 8 °C | 7 °C | 13 °C | 11 °C | 7 °C | 6 °C | 15 °C | 13 °C | 12 °C |
| Wind | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 2 m/s | 1 m/s | 4 m/s | 4 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 4 m/s | 4 m/s | 3 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 Broken Bow
The aurora only shows through clear skies, so the weather matters as much as the Kp index. Here is the general forecast for Broken Bow: temperature, wind and the chance of rain for the coming days.
Planning further ahead? See the hour-by-hour weather forecast for Broken Bow on Atlas of Seasons.
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What you would see from Broken Bow
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° | 1,368 km |
| 3 | Below the horizon | 0° | 5° | 1,145 km |
| 4 | Below the horizon | 2° | 8° | 923 km |
| 5 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 5° | 13° | 701 km |
| 6 | Visible to the north | 10° | 20° | 478 km |
| 7 | Visible to the north | 21° | 36° | 256 km |
| 8 | Visible to the north | 72° | 80° | 33 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 Broken Bow 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 Broken Bow 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 south. 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 0.6°), 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 Broken Bow
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
September has been the best month (2% of nights), followed by May (1%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 2% | 78% | 9.4 h | 13° / 27°C |
| October | 1% | 74% | 10.9 h | 5° / 18°C |
| November | 1% | 69% | 12.0 h | -1° / 11°C |
| December | 0.6% | 60% | 12.5 h | -6° / 4°C |
| January | 0% | 59% | 12.3 h | -7° / 3°C |
| February | 0.7% | 59% | 11.1 h | -7° / 5°C |
| March | 0.6% | 58% | 9.9 h | -2° / 12°C |
| April | 1% | 63% | 8.4 h | 3° / 17°C |
Aurora nights in Broken Bow 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
- 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
- 11 November 2025 · Kp 8.7
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Kearney Regional Airport (EAR) · 92 km
- Typical low / high in September
- 13° / 27°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 Broken Bow?
From Broken Bow 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 Broken Bow?
Face north (about 8° 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 Broken Bow?
Over 2005–2025, September gave the best odds in Broken Bow (2% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by May (1%).
When is the aurora season in Broken Bow?
Broken Bow 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 Broken Bow?
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 south.
When was the aurora last possible in Broken Bow?
The most recent night in our data when activity reached the level Broken Bow needs, during darkness, was 3 July 2026 (Kp 7.0). It has happened on 213 nights since 1995.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Broken Bow share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- City of Broken Bow 0 km
- Township of Broken Bow 5 km
- Custer County 7 km
- Berwyn 13 km
- Township of Berwyn 14 km
- Merna 14 km
- Township of East Custer 15 km
- Township of Garfield 15 km
- Township of Ryno 15 km
- Township of Kilfoil 16 km
- Weissert 18 km
- Township of Custer 21 km
- Lillian 21 km
- Round Valley 21 km
- Township of Westerville 21 km
- Westerville 22 km
- Township of Ansley 24 km
- Buckeye 24 km
- Township of Lillian 24 km
- Ansley 25 km
- New Helena 25 km
- Gates 26 km
- Callaway 27 km
- Lodi 27 km
- Walworth 28 km
- Township of Douglas Grove 29 km
- Township of Cliff 30 km
- Township of Triumph 30 km
- Anselmo 31 km
- Township of Spring Creek 31 km
- Township of Delight 32 km
- Township of Victoria 32 km
- Township of Milburn 34 km
- Milburn 36 km
- Finchville 37 km
- Pleasant Hill 38 km