New Mexico, United StatesMagnetic latitude 44.6°Population 5,7402,124 m above sea level
Can you see the northern lights in Taos?
Only severe geomagnetic storms (Kp 9 or more) bring the aurora into view from Taos — a few nights per solar cycle, low in the north. Since 1995 that level (Kp 9) was reached during darkness here on 2 nights.
Right now
Quiet right now (Kp 3.0).
Updates every minute while this page is open.
Tonight in one minute
Not tonight
- Solar activity Too weak: Kp 4.7 expected, 9 needed here.
- Sky Overcast (95% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 19:14 to 06:19. A bright moon (82%) washes out faint displays.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
Thursday 22 October — No · Kp 4.7 · Forecast cloud: 95%. · 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 00:00 local time
Unlikely
Best around 00:00. Forecast max Kp 4.7 (this place needs 9), average cloud 95%.
- Dark enough
- 19:14 – 06:19
- Sunset
- 18:18 · sunrise 07:16
- Moon
- 82% · ↑ 16:19 · ↓ 03:27
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 9
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 7.3 (a red glow low in the north).
- Look towards
- north (10°)
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 | Thu, 00 | Thu, 03 | Thu, 06 | Thu, 21 | Fri, 00 | Fri, 03 | Fri, 06 | Fri, 21 | Sat, 00 | Sat, 03 | Sat, 06 | Sat, 21 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low cloud | 12% | 17% | 19% | 18% | 37% | 50% | 52% | 16% | 31% | 28% | 19% | 18% |
| Mid cloud | 41% | 65% | 82% | 77% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 78% | 42% | 17% | 2% | 42% |
| High cloud | 100% | 100% | 100% | 46% | 61% | 42% | 18% | 18% | 33% | 23% | 7% | 63% |
| Temperature | 12 °C | 11 °C | 11 °C | 12 °C | 11 °C | 10 °C | 10 °C | 11 °C | 9 °C | 7 °C | 8 °C | 9 °C |
| Feels like | 12 °C | 11 °C | 11 °C | 12 °C | 11 °C | 9 °C | 9 °C | 11 °C | 7 °C | 5 °C | 6 °C | 7 °C |
| Wind | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 1 m/s | 2 m/s | 3 m/s | 2 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 Taos
The aurora only shows through clear skies, so the weather matters as much as the Kp index. Here is the general forecast for Taos: temperature, wind and the chance of rain for the coming days.
Planning further ahead? See the hour-by-hour weather forecast for Taos on Atlas of Seasons.
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What you would see from Taos
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 | -6° | -3° | 1,990 km |
| 3 | Below the horizon | -5° | -2° | 1,768 km |
| 4 | Below the horizon | -3° | 0° | 1,546 km |
| 5 | Below the horizon | -1° | 2° | 1,323 km |
| 6 | Below the horizon | 0° | 5° | 1,101 km |
| 7 | Below the horizon | 3° | 9° | 878 km |
| 8 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 6° | 14° | 656 km |
| 9 | Visible to the north | 12° | 22° | 434 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 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) next 24 h 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 Taos 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) eye in Taos 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 Taos
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
Activity of Kp 9 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% | 82% | 9.6 h | 8° / 24°C |
| October | 0% | 86% | 10.9 h | 2° / 17°C |
| November | 0% | 86% | 11.8 h | -3° / 11°C |
| December | 0% | 74% | 12.1 h | -7° / 5°C |
| January | 0% | 75% | 11.9 h | -9° / 4°C |
| February | 0% | 74% | 11.0 h | -7° / 6°C |
| March | 0% | 79% | 10.3 h | -4° / 11°C |
| April | 0% | 80% | 8.9 h | -1° / 16°C |
Aurora nights in Taos since 1995
Nights when Kp reached 9 or more while it was dark here.
Most recent strong nights
- 10 May 2024 · Kp 9.0
- 28 October 2003 · Kp 9.0
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Taos Regional Airport (TSM) · 11 km
- Typical low / high in January
- -9° / 4°C
- What to wear
- Below freezing at night: thermal layers, a warm jacket, hat, gloves and winter boots. 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 Taos?
Only severe geomagnetic storms (Kp 9 or more) bring the aurora into view from Taos — a few nights per solar cycle, low in the north.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Taos?
Face north (about 10° from true north). At Kp 9 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 12° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
When is the aurora season in Taos?
Taos 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 Taos?
Strong sky glow washes out faint aurora. Head out of town for anything but a bright display.
When was the aurora last possible in Taos?
The most recent night in our data when activity reached the level Taos needs, during darkness, was 10 May 2024 (Kp 9.0). It has happened on 2 nights since 1995.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Taos share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Cañon 2 km
- Ranchito 2 km
- El Padro 3 km
- El Prado 3 km
- Taos Pueblo 4 km
- Los Cordovas 6 km
- Ranchos de Taos 6 km
- Llano Quemado 7 km
- Talpa 8 km
- Shady Brook 10 km
- Arroyo Seco 12 km
- Valdez 14 km
- Pot Creek 15 km
- Cañoncito 16 km
- Arroyo Hondo 17 km
- Vallecitos 17 km
- Carson 18 km
- Valle Escondido 18 km
- Kiowa Village 19 km
- Taos County 20 km
- San Cristobal 22 km
- Taos Ski Valley 24 km
- Twining 24 km
- Pilar 25 km
- Agua Fria 25 km
- Rio Pueblo 25 km
- Angel Fire 26 km
- Picuris Pueblo 26 km
- Rock Wall 26 km
- Vadito 26 km
- Lakeview Pines 27 km
- Lama 27 km
- Las Mochas 27 km
- Rio Lucio 27 km
- Peñasco 28 km
- Sipapu 28 km
- Val Verde Ski Area 28 km
- Idlewild 29 km
- Taos Junction 29 km
- Rodarte 30 km