North Dakota, United StatesMagnetic latitude 54.4°Population 1,257822 m above sea level
Northern lights in Hettinger
Hettinger needs an active night: from about Kp 4 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
Quiet right now (Kp 1.7).
Latest measured half-hour activity worldwide: Hp30 2.7.
Updates every minute while this page is open. Ground data: GFZ Potsdam Hp30 index (CC BY 4.0).
Tonight in one minute
Only in photos, if at all
- Solar activity Enough for a camera: Kp 3 expected, 2.3 needed for photos, 4 for the eye.
- Sky Mostly clear (0% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 18:58 to 06:11. A bright moon (76%) washes out faint displays.
What to do: Point a phone in night mode north (3–10 s exposure). A red or green glow often shows on the screen before you can see it.
Saturday 24 October — Possible · Kp 4 · best around 00:00 · Forecast cloud: 54%. · Reliability: low (rough trend)
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 05:43 local time
Possible
Best around 05:00. Forecast max Kp 3.0 (this place needs 4), average cloud 0%.
- Dark enough
- 18:58 – 06:11
- Sunset
- 17:53 · sunrise 07:17
- Moon
- 76% · ↑ 15:54 · ↓ 01:57
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 4
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 2.3 (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 | Wed, 05 | Wed, 20 | Wed, 23 | Thu, 02 | Thu, 05 | Thu, 20 | Thu, 23 | Fri, 02 | Fri, 05 | Fri, 20 | Fri, 23 | Sat, 02 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Mid cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 8% | 24% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| High cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 63% | 47% | 62% | 95% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Temperature | 7 °C | 14 °C | 12 °C | 10 °C | 10 °C | 18 °C | 16 °C | 14 °C | 13 °C | 20 °C | 17 °C | 12 °C |
| Feels like | 5 °C | 14 °C | 12 °C | 10 °C | 8 °C | 18 °C | 16 °C | 14 °C | 13 °C | 20 °C | 17 °C | 12 °C |
| Wind | 3 m/s | 5 m/s | 5 m/s | 5 m/s | 4 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 5 m/s | 6 m/s | 8 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 Hettinger
The aurora only shows through clear skies, so the weather matters as much as the Kp index. Here is the general forecast for Hettinger: temperature, wind and the chance of rain for the coming days.
Planning further ahead? See the hour-by-hour weather forecast for Hettinger on Atlas of Seasons.
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What you would see from Hettinger
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 | 3° | 8° | 901 km |
| 3 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 6° | 13° | 678 km |
| 4 | Visible to the north | 11° | 21° | 456 km |
| 5 | Visible to the north | 23° | 39° | 234 km |
| 6 | Visible to the north | 84° | 87° | 11 km |
| 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 Hettinger 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 eye in Hettinger 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) 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.
A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the west-north-west. 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 Hettinger
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
September has been the best month (14% of nights), followed by October (10%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 14% | 75% | 9.1 h | 10° / 24°C |
| October | 10% | 64% | 10.9 h | 2° / 14°C |
| November | 7% | 55% | 12.0 h | -4° / 7°C |
| December | 5% | 45% | 12.6 h | -9° / 0°C |
| January | 5% | 53% | 12.4 h | -10° / 0°C |
| February | 6% | 48% | 11.4 h | -10° / 0°C |
| March | 6% | 47% | 9.9 h | -5° / 8°C |
| April | 8% | 58% | 7.9 h | -1° / 13°C |
Aurora nights in Hettinger 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
- Dickinson Theodore Roosevelt Regional Airport (DIK) · 89 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 Hettinger?
Hettinger needs an active night: from about Kp 4 the aurora appears low over the north horizon, and it rises higher as activity grows.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Hettinger?
Face north (about 10° from true north). At Kp 4 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 11° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
What is the best month to see the aurora in Hettinger?
Over 2005–2025, September gave the best odds in Hettinger (14% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by October (10%).
When is the aurora season in Hettinger?
Hettinger 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 Hettinger?
Noticeable sky glow. Bright displays are visible, but driving out of town makes a clear difference. A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the west-north-west.
When was the aurora last possible in Hettinger?
Activity last reached storm level (Kp 5 or more) during darkness in Hettinger 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 Hettinger share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- City of Hettinger 0 km
- Township of Hettinger 4 km
- Township of Scott 6 km
- Township of Duck Creek 10 km
- City of Haynes 13 km
- Haynes 13 km
- Township of Grand River 13 km
- Adams County 14 km
- Bucyrus 14 km
- City of Bucyrus 14 km
- Unorganized Territory of Central Adams 14 km
- Township of Bucyrus 16 km
- Township of Clermont 16 km
- Township of Viking 16 km
- Township of Taylor Butte 19 km
- Township of Wolf Butte 22 km
- Lodgepole 22 km
- Township of Lightning Creek 23 km
- Township of Horse Creek 23 km
- Township of Chandler 24 km
- Township of Reeder 24 km
- Township of Lodgepole 25 km
- Reeder 26 km
- City of Reeder 26 km
- Township of Cedar 27 km
- Township of Barrett 27 km
- Unorganized Territory of Duck Creek 27 km
- Township of Maine 28 km
- Township of Darling Springs 30 km
- Township of Ashby 31 km
- Township of Wilson 31 km
- Unorganized Territory of West Adams 32 km
- Township of Haley 33 km
- Township of Fredlund 35 km
- Township of Sidney 36 km
- Unorganized Territory of Pleasant Valley 36 km
- Township of Wagendorf 37 km
- Township of Chilton 38 km
- Township of Glendo 40 km