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Northern Lights in North Carolina, United States

In North Carolina the aurora is visible from about Kp 8.3, first near Boone. Mint Hill has the darkest skies among the larger places.

Next chance in North Carolina

None of the next 20 nights looks active enough here: you need about Kp 8.3 by eye or Kp 6.7 for photos. Big storms usually show up 1–3 days ahead — this page updates by itself.

Weather in North Carolina

General forecast for Boone, the main town in North Carolina. Tonight's cloud cover for every town is on its aurora page.

Planning further ahead? See the hour-by-hour weather forecast for Boone on Atlas of Seasons.

PlaceKp neededKp for photosLook towardsLight pollutionPopulation
Boone 8.3 6.7 N Bright suburban sky 18,156
Greensboro 8.7 7 N City sky 285,342
Durham 8.7 7 N City sky 257,636
Winston-Salem 8.7 7 N City sky 241,218
Cary 8.7 7 N City sky 159,769
High Point 8.7 7 N City sky 110,268
Asheville 8.7 7 N City sky 95,056
Chapel Hill 8.7 7 N City sky 59,568
Rocky Mount 8.7 7 N City sky 55,806
Burlington 8.7 7 N City sky 52,472
Hickory 8.7 7 N City sky 40,374
Wake Forest 8.7 7 N City sky 38,199
Mooresville 8.7 7 N Bright suburban sky 36,009
Salisbury 8.7 7 N City sky 34,017
Thomasville 8.7 7 N City sky 27,061
Statesville 8.7 7 N City sky 26,221
Asheboro 8.7 7 N Bright suburban sky 26,103
Lexington 8.7 7 N City sky 19,326
Elizabeth City 8.7 7 NNW Bright suburban sky 17,988
Lenoir 8.7 7 N Bright suburban sky 17,888
Morganton 8.7 7 N City sky 16,692
Henderson 8.7 7 N Bright suburban sky 15,271
Graham 8.7 7 N City sky 14,647
Newton 8.7 7 N Bright suburban sky 13,035
Charlotte 9 7.3 N City sky 911,311
Raleigh 9 7.3 N City sky 482,295
Fayetteville 9 7.3 N City sky 201,963
Greenville 9 7.3 N Bright suburban sky 90,597
Concord 9 7.3 N City sky 87,696
Gastonia 9 7.3 N City sky 74,543
Huntersville 9 7.3 N City sky 52,704
Wilson 9 7.3 N City sky 49,643
Kannapolis 9 7.3 N City sky 46,144
Apex 9 7.3 N City sky 45,585
Indian Trail 9 7.3 N City sky 37,073
Goldsboro 9 7.3 N City sky 35,826
Monroe 9 7.3 N City sky 34,623
Holly Springs 9 7.3 N Bright suburban sky 31,377
Matthews 9 7.3 N City sky 30,678
Fort Bragg 9 7.3 N City sky 29,183
Sanford 9 7.3 N Bright suburban sky 29,144
Cornelius 9 7.3 N City sky 28,092
Garner 9 7.3 N City sky 28,053
Mint Hill 9 7.3 N Suburban sky 25,627
Kinston 9 7.3 N Bright suburban sky 21,337
Shelby 9 7.3 N City sky 20,189
Albemarle 9 7.3 N Bright suburban sky 16,003
Hendersonville 9 7.3 N Bright suburban sky 13,814
Smithfield 9 7.3 N City sky 12,022
Tarboro 9 7.3 N Bright suburban sky 11,164
Lincolnton 9 7.3 N Bright suburban sky 10,900
Wilmington 9+ 7.3 N City sky 115,933
Jacksonville 9+ 7.3 N Bright suburban sky 67,357
New Bern 9+ 7.3 N Bright suburban sky 30,070
Lumberton 9+ 7.3 N City sky 21,667
Laurinburg 9+ 7.3 N Bright suburban sky 15,507

Best months in North Carolina

Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.

Activity of Kp 8.3 or more is too rare here for monthly odds to be meaningful. The table still shows how often nights are clear and dark.

0%10% July: 0% Jul August: 0% Aug September: 0% Sept October: 0% Oct November: 0% Nov December: 0% Dec January: 0% Jan February: 0% Feb March: 0% Mar April: 0% Apr May: 0% May June: 0% Jun
All years Near solar maximum Near solar minimum
  1. Kp 0–2 Quiet Only under the auroral oval: northern Norway, Swedish and Finnish Lapland, Iceland, Alaska, northern Canada.
  2. Kp 3 Unsettled Bright in the Arctic; low on the horizon in central Scandinavia and southern Iceland.
  3. Kp 4 Active Overhead in the Arctic; low in the north from southern Norway, Sweden, Finland and northern Scotland.
  4. Kp 5 Minor storm (G1) Scotland, southern Scandinavia, the Baltic states, the northern US states and southern Canada.
  5. Kp 6 Moderate storm (G2) Northern England, Denmark, northern Germany and Poland, the US Midwest — often clearer in photos than to the eye.
  6. Kp 7 Strong storm (G3) camera in Boone Most of the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Czechia; red glow in photos from France and the northern Alps.
  7. Kp 8 Severe storm (G4) eye in Boone Central Europe to the eye; red sky in photos from northern Italy, Spain, the Balkans and Turkey's Black Sea coast.
  8. 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).

The town pages in this region also cover 4,964 villages and districts nearby.

Smaller places