North Carolina, United StatesMagnetic latitude 43.5°Population 4,10015 m above sea level
Can you see the northern lights in Burgaw?
From Burgaw the aurora is too low for the naked eye except in the most extreme storms, but in severe storms (about Kp 7.3 or more) cameras record a red glow low in the north. Strong enough for photos on 53 nights since 1995 — most recently on 20 January 2026.
Right now
Quiet right now (Kp 1.7).
Updates every minute while this page is open.
Tonight in one minute
Not tonight
- Solar activity Too weak: Kp 3.3 expected, 7.3 needed here.
- Sky Mostly clear (0% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 19:23 to 06:29. A bright moon (84%) washes out faint displays.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
Thursday 22 October — No · Kp 3.3 · Forecast cloud: 0%. · 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 06:15 local time
Unlikely
Best around 06:00. Forecast max Kp 3.3 (this place needs 9+), average cloud 0%.
- Dark enough
- 19:23 – 06:29
- Sunset
- 18:28 · sunrise 07:24
- Moon
- 84% · ↑ 16:26 · ↓ 03:33
- 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 (350°)
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, 06 | Thu, 21 | Fri, 00 | Fri, 03 | Fri, 06 | Fri, 21 | Sat, 00 | Sat, 03 | Sat, 06 | Sat, 21 | Sun, 00 | Sun, 03 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 40% | 14% | 0% | 0% | 2% | 0% | 0% |
| Mid cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| High cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Temperature | 7 °C | 12 °C | 10 °C | 9 °C | 7 °C | 15 °C | 13 °C | 12 °C | 11 °C | 15 °C | 13 °C | 12 °C |
| Feels like | 7 °C | 12 °C | 9 °C | 8 °C | 6 °C | 15 °C | 13 °C | 12 °C | 11 °C | 15 °C | 13 °C | 12 °C |
| Wind | 1 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 4 m/s | 4 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 4 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 Burgaw
The aurora only shows through clear skies, so the weather matters as much as the Kp index. Here is the general forecast for Burgaw: temperature, wind and the chance of rain for the coming days.
Planning further ahead? See the hour-by-hour weather forecast for Burgaw on Atlas of Seasons.
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What you would see from Burgaw
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 | -7° | -4° | 2,113 km |
| 3 | Below the horizon | -5° | -3° | 1,890 km |
| 4 | Below the horizon | -4° | -1° | 1,668 km |
| 5 | Below the horizon | -2° | 1° | 1,446 km |
| 6 | Below the horizon | -1° | 4° | 1,223 km |
| 7 | Below the horizon | 1° | 7° | 1,001 km |
| 8 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 4° | 11° | 778 km |
| 9 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 8° | 17° | 556 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 Burgaw 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.
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 Burgaw
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% | 71% | 9.8 h | 18° / 28°C |
| October | 0% | 74% | 10.8 h | 12° / 24°C |
| November | 0% | 71% | 11.6 h | 6° / 18°C |
| December | 0% | 65% | 12.1 h | 3° / 14°C |
| January | 0% | 67% | 11.9 h | 0° / 11°C |
| February | 0% | 63% | 11.0 h | 2° / 13°C |
| March | 0% | 65% | 10.3 h | 5° / 17°C |
| April | 0% | 70% | 9.0 h | 10° / 22°C |
Nights when Burgaw could catch it in photos
Since 1995, nights with Kp 7.3 or more while it was dark here — a red or green glow low on the horizon.
- 20 January 2026 · Kp 7.3
- 19 January 2026 · Kp 7.7
- 12 November 2025 · Kp 7.3
- 11 November 2025 · Kp 8.7
- 31 May 2025 · Kp 7.7
- 10 October 2024 · Kp 8.3
- 16 September 2024 · Kp 7.3
- 10 May 2024 · Kp 9.0
- 23 April 2023 · Kp 8.0
- 23 March 2023 · Kp 8.0
- 3 November 2021 · Kp 7.7
- 25 August 2018 · Kp 7.3
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Wilmington International Airport (ILM) · 31 km
- Typical low / high in January
- 0° / 11°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 Burgaw?
From Burgaw the aurora is too low for the naked eye except in the most extreme storms, but in severe storms (about Kp 7.3 or more) cameras record a red glow low in the north.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Burgaw?
Around Burgaw the aurora is often right overhead. Start by facing north, but look up and all around — in strong storms it can fill the whole sky and even appear behind you.
When is the aurora season in Burgaw?
Burgaw 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 Burgaw?
Noticeable sky glow. Bright displays are visible, but driving out of town makes a clear difference.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Burgaw share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Township of Burgaw 1 km
- Saint Helena 4 km
- Pender County 5 km
- Six Forks 6 km
- Twin Oaks Mobile Home Park 6 km
- Murray Town 7 km
- Twin Oak 7 km
- Walkers 7 km
- Rhyne Crossroad 8 km
- Stag Park 8 km
- Van Eden 8 km
- Ashton 9 km
- Walkers Store 9 km
- White Stocking 9 km
- Highsmith 10 km
- Little Kelly 10 km
- Watha 10 km
- Interstate Mobile Home Park 10 km
- Shelter Neck 11 km
- Township of Long Creek 13 km
- Malpass Corner 13 km
- Plear 13 km
- Rocky Point 13 km
- Wards Corner 13 km
- Long Creek 14 km
- Township of Union 14 km
- Cypress Grove Mobile Home Park 14 km
- Costin 16 km
- Township of Holly 16 km
- Penderlea 16 km
- Piney Wood 16 km
- Willard 16 km
- Shaken 17 km
- Township of Columbia 18 km
- Yamacraw 18 km
- Sunnyside 19 km
- Rooks 21 km
- Tin City 21 km
- Wallace 21 km
- Atkinson 23 km