Nevada, United StatesMagnetic latitude 44.9°Population 58,6391,427 m above sea level
Can you see the northern lights in Carson City?
Only severe geomagnetic storms (Kp 8.7 or more) bring the aurora into view from Carson City — a few nights per solar cycle, low in the north-north-east. Since 1995 that level (Kp 8.7) was reached during darkness here on 9 nights.
Right now
Quiet right now (Kp 0.0).
Latest measured half-hour activity worldwide: Hp30 1.
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, 8.7 needed here.
- Sky Mostly clear (13% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 19:13 to 06:14.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
Monday 19 October — No · Kp 3 · Forecast cloud: 13%. · Reliability: good
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 19:57 local time
Unlikely
Best around 19:00. Forecast max Kp 3.0 (this place needs 8.7), average cloud 13%.
- Dark enough
- 19:13 – 06:14
- Sunset
- 18:15 · sunrise 07:13
- Moon
- 54% · ↑ 14:33 · ↓ 00:14
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 8.7
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 7 (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 | Sun, 19 | Sun, 22 | Mon, 01 | Mon, 04 | Mon, 19 | Mon, 22 | Tue, 01 | Tue, 04 | Tue, 19 | Tue, 22 | Wed, 01 | Wed, 04 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Mid cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 41% | 90% | 100% | 100% | 40% | 45% | 44% | 38% |
| High cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 2% | 7% | 28% | 57% | 3% | 9% | 8% | 1% |
| Temperature | 19 °C | 13 °C | 10 °C | 10 °C | 17 °C | 13 °C | 10 °C | 10 °C | 16 °C | 13 °C | 10 °C | 9 °C |
| Feels like | 19 °C | 13 °C | 10 °C | 8 °C | 17 °C | 13 °C | 10 °C | 9 °C | 16 °C | 13 °C | 10 °C | 8 °C |
| Wind | 6 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 5 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 2 m/s | 1 m/s | 2 m/s | 3 m/s | 2 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 Carson City
The aurora only shows through clear skies, so the weather matters as much as the Kp index. Here is the general forecast for Carson City: temperature, wind and the chance of rain for the coming days.
Planning further ahead? See the hour-by-hour weather forecast for Carson City on Atlas of Seasons.
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What you would see from Carson City
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 | -6° | -3° | 1,957 km |
| 3 | Below the horizon | -4° | -1° | 1,735 km |
| 4 | Below the horizon | -3° | 1° | 1,512 km |
| 5 | Below the horizon | -1° | 3° | 1,290 km |
| 6 | Below the horizon | 1° | 6° | 1,068 km |
| 7 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 3° | 9° | 845 km |
| 8 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 7° | 15° | 623 km |
| 9 | Visible to the north-north-east | 13° | 24° | 400 km |
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 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) camera in Carson City Most of the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Czechia; red glow in photos from France and the northern Alps.
- Kp 8 Severe storm (G4) eye in Carson City 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.
Estimate from NASA VIIRS night-light data (sky-glow model within 50 km). Check access and private land before you go.
Hills and mountains
Terrain is not modelled for this place.
From elevation data (AWS Terrain Tiles) along seven lines of sight up to 30 km.
Best months to see the aurora in Carson City
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
Activity of Kp 8.7 or more is too rare here for monthly odds to be meaningful. The table still shows how often nights are clear and dark.
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 0% | 92% | 9.6 h | 9° / 24°C |
| October | 0% | 86% | 10.9 h | 4° / 17°C |
| November | 0% | 76% | 11.9 h | -1° / 10°C |
| December | 0% | 61% | 12.4 h | -5° / 4°C |
| January | 0% | 62% | 12.0 h | -5° / 4°C |
| February | 0% | 65% | 11.0 h | -4° / 5°C |
| March | 0% | 63% | 10.0 h | -3° / 7°C |
| April | 0% | 76% | 8.5 h | 0° / 12°C |
Aurora nights in Carson City since 1995
Nights when Kp reached 8.7 or more while it was dark here.
Most recent strong nights
- 11 November 2025 · Kp 8.7
- 10 May 2024 · Kp 9.0
- 23 August 2005 · Kp 8.7
- 9 November 2004 · Kp 8.7
- 7 November 2004 · Kp 8.7
- 28 October 2003 · Kp 9.0
- 5 November 2001 · Kp 8.7
- 30 March 2001 · Kp 8.7
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Reno Tahoe International Airport (RNO) · 37 km
- Typical low / high in May
- 4° / 17°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 Carson City?
Only severe geomagnetic storms (Kp 8.7 or more) bring the aurora into view from Carson City — a few nights per solar cycle, low in the north-north-east.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Carson City?
Face north-north-east (about 14° from true north). At Kp 8.7 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 13° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
When is the aurora season in Carson City?
Carson City 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 Carson City?
Strong sky glow washes out faint aurora. Head out of town for anything but a bright display.
When was the aurora last possible in Carson City?
The most recent night in our data when activity reached the level Carson City needs, during darkness, was 11 November 2025 (Kp 8.7). It has happened on 9 nights since 1995.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Carson City share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Carson Hot Springs 4 km
- New Empire 4 km
- Empire 5 km
- Stewart 5 km
- Lakeview 6 km
- Pinyon Hills 6 km
- Carson Valley 8 km
- Indian Hills 9 km
- Mound House 10 km
- Bridge House 13 km
- Fiddlers Green 13 km
- Johnson Lane 13 km
- Franktown 14 km
- New Washoe City 15 km
- Silver City 16 km
- Twin Flat 16 km
- Dayton 17 km
- Glenbrook 17 km
- Gold Hill 17 km
- Tyrolian Village 17 km
- Incline Village-Crystal Bay 17 km
- Divide 18 km
- Logan Creek Estates 18 km
- Washoe City 18 km
- Virginia City 19 km
- Incline Village 20 km
- Sundown Town 20 km
- Sutro 20 km
- Brockway 22 km
- Crystal Bay 22 km
- Brockway Vista 23 km
- Kings Beach 24 km
- Wood Vista 24 km
- Carson Rapids City 24 km
- Mark Twain Estates 24 km
- Como 25 km
- Lake Tahoe 28 km
- Idlewild 34 km
- Pine Land 34 km
- Homewood 35 km