North Dakota, United StatesMagnetic latitude 55.1°Population 1,115845 m above sea level
Northern lights in Beach
Beach needs an active night: from about Kp 3.7 the aurora appears low over the north horizon, and it rises higher as activity grows. Since 1995 storms of Kp 4.7 or more reached this place during darkness on 922 nights.
Right now
It is still light here. Darkness starts at 19:05.
Latest measured half-hour activity worldwide: Hp30 4.
Updates every minute while this page is open. Ground data: GFZ Potsdam Hp30 index (CC BY 4.0).
Tonight in one minute
Yes — good chance tonight
- Solar activity Strong enough: Kp 4.7 expected, 3.7 needed here.
- Sky Mostly clear (10% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 19:05 to 06:16. A bright moon (72%) washes out faint displays.
What to do: Go somewhere dark around 02:00, give your eyes 15 minutes to adjust and look north, low over the horizon.
Wednesday 21 October — Good chance · Kp 4.7 · best around 01:30 · Forecast cloud: 10%. · 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 17:16 local time
Excellent chance
Best around 02:00. Forecast max Kp 4.7 (this place needs 3.7), average cloud 10%.
- Dark enough
- 19:05 – 06:16
- Sunset
- 17:59 · sunrise 07:22
- Moon
- 72% · ↑ 15:43 · ↓ 02:01
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 3.7
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 2 (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 | Tue, 19 | Tue, 22 | Wed, 01 | Wed, 04 | Wed, 19 | Wed, 22 | Thu, 01 | Thu, 04 | Thu, 19 | Thu, 22 | Fri, 01 | Fri, 04 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Mid cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 5% | 19% |
| High cloud | 39% | 12% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 90% | 76% | 65% | 67% |
| Temperature | 13 °C | 10 °C | 8 °C | 6 °C | 15 °C | 13 °C | 12 °C | 10 °C | 19 °C | 17 °C | 15 °C | 14 °C |
| Feels like | 13 °C | 8 °C | 6 °C | 4 °C | 15 °C | 13 °C | 12 °C | 10 °C | 19 °C | 17 °C | 15 °C | 14 °C |
| Wind | 4 m/s | 3 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 6 m/s | 7 m/s | 7 m/s | 5 m/s | 3 m/s | 4 m/s | 4 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 Beach
The aurora only shows through clear skies, so the weather matters as much as the Kp index. Here is the general forecast for Beach: temperature, wind and the chance of rain for the coming days.
Planning further ahead? See the hour-by-hour weather forecast for Beach on Atlas of Seasons.
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What you would see from Beach
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 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 4° | 10° | 823 km |
| 3 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 7° | 15° | 600 km |
| 4 | Visible to the north | 14° | 26° | 378 km |
| 5 | Visible to the north | 33° | 51° | 156 km |
| 6 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 7 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 8 | Overhead, and also to the south | – | – | – |
| 9 | Overhead, and also to the south | – | – | – |
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 camera in Beach 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 eye in Beach 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) 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
Rural to suburban. Some sky glow from nearby lights. Moderate displays are fine; faint ones are easier a few kilometres out.
A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the north-east. 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
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 Beach
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
September has been the best month (16% of nights), followed by October (13%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 16% | 74% | 9.1 h | 10° / 24°C |
| October | 13% | 61% | 10.9 h | 2° / 14°C |
| November | 10% | 50% | 12.0 h | -4° / 6°C |
| December | 6% | 44% | 12.9 h | -10° / -2°C |
| January | 8% | 54% | 12.4 h | -11° / -2°C |
| February | 11% | 54% | 11.4 h | -11° / -1°C |
| March | 9% | 48% | 9.9 h | -5° / 7°C |
| April | 11% | 56% | 7.8 h | -1° / 13°C |
Aurora nights in Beach since 1995
Nights when Kp reached 4.7 or more while it was dark here.
Most recent strong nights
- 4 October 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 3 October 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 7 September 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 3 July 2026 · Kp 7.0
- 24 June 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 18 April 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 17 April 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 2 April 2026 · Kp 5.3
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Dawson Community Airport (GDV) · 66 km
- Typical low / high in September
- 10° / 24°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 Beach?
Beach needs an active night: from about Kp 3.7 the aurora appears low over the north horizon, and it rises higher as activity grows.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Beach?
Face north (about 10° from true north). At Kp 3.7 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 14° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
What is the best month to see the aurora in Beach?
Over 2005–2025, September gave the best odds in Beach (16% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by October (13%).
When is the aurora season in Beach?
Beach 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 Beach?
Some sky glow from nearby lights. Moderate displays are fine; faint ones are easier a few kilometres out. A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the north-east.
When was the aurora last possible in Beach?
Activity last reached storm level (Kp 5 or more) during darkness in Beach on 4 October 2026 (Kp 5.0) — 922 such nights since 1995. Here the aurora also appears on many quieter nights.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Beach share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- City of Beach 0 km
- Township of Beach 5 km
- Chama 7 km
- Yates 10 km
- Golden Valley County 12 km
- Township of Saddle Butte 12 km
- City of Sentinel Butte 12 km
- Sentinel Butte 13 km
- Thelan 13 km
- Saint Phillip 14 km
- Ekre 15 km
- Maus Trailer Court 16 km
- Wibaux 16 km
- Township of Delhi 16 km
- Wibaux County 19 km
- De Mores 20 km
- Golva 20 km
- City of Golva 20 km
- Township of Sentinel 21 km
- Township of Lone Tree 23 km
- Township of Elk Creek 24 km
- Township of Garner 24 km
- Rider 28 km
- Carlyle 30 km
- Township of Bullion 31 km
- Alpha 32 km
- Unorganized Territory of North Golden Valley 33 km
- Unorganized Territory of East Golden Valley 34 km
- Township of Henry 36 km
- Township of Pearl 38 km