Texas, United StatesMagnetic latitude 41.7°Population 2,334527 m above sea level
Can you see the northern lights in Anson?
From Anson the aurora is too low for the naked eye except in the most extreme storms, but in severe storms (about Kp 5.3 or more) cameras record a red glow low in the north. Strong enough for photos on 452 nights since 1995 — most recently on 3 July 2026.
Right now
It is still light here. Darkness starts at 19:58.
Latest measured half-hour activity worldwide: Hp30 1.3.
Updates every minute while this page is open. Ground data: GFZ Potsdam Hp30 index (CC BY 4.0).
Tonight in one minute
Not tonight
- Solar activity Too weak: Kp 4 expected, 5.3 needed here.
- Sky Partly cloudy (44% cloud) — look for gaps.
- Darkness Dark from 19:58 to 06:51.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
- Detailed forecast Fri 16 4 No · Kp 4
- Sat 17 1.7 No · Kp 1.7
- 27-day trend Sun 18 2 No · Kp 2
- Mon 19 2 No · Kp 2
- Tue 20 3 No · Kp 3
- Wed 21 4 No · Kp 4
- Thu 22 4 No · Kp 4
- Fri 23 3 No · Kp 3
- Sat 24 2 No · Kp 2
- Sun 25 2 No · Kp 2
- Mon 26 2 No · Kp 2
- Tue 27 2 No · Kp 2
- Wed 28 2 No · Kp 2
- Thu 29 2 No · Kp 2
- Fri 30 5 No · Kp 5
- Sat 31 5 No · Kp 5
- Sun 1 3 No · Kp 3
- Mon 2 2 No · Kp 2
- Tue 3 2 No · Kp 2
- Wed 4 2 No · Kp 2
- Thu 5 3 No · Kp 3
- Fri 6 3 No · Kp 3
Friday 16 October — No · Kp 4 · Forecast cloud: 49%. · 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 18:15 local time
Unlikely
Best around 20:00. Forecast max Kp 4.0 (this place needs 9+), average cloud 44%.
- Dark enough
- 19:58 – 06:51
- Sunset
- 19:05 · sunrise 07:45
- Moon
- 34% · ↑ 13:29 · ↓ 23:13
- 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 5.3 (a red glow low in the north).
- Look towards
- north (8°)
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 | Fri, 20 | Fri, 23 | Sat, 02 | Sat, 05 | Sat, 21 | Sun, 00 | Sun, 03 | Sun, 06 | Sun, 22 | Mon, 01 | Mon, 04 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 1% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Mid cloud | 2% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 6% | 86% | 40% | 55% | 51% | 5% | 59% |
| High cloud | 65% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Temperature | 10 °C | 9 °C | 8 °C | 7 °C | 9 °C | 8 °C | 7 °C | 6 °C | 14 °C | 13 °C | 12 °C |
| Feels like | 7 °C | 6 °C | 5 °C | 4 °C | 7 °C | 6 °C | 4 °C | 3 °C | 11 °C | 10 °C | 9 °C |
| Wind | 5 m/s | 4 m/s | 4 m/s | 3 m/s | 1 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 4 m/s | 4 m/s | 4 m/s |
| Visibility | 19 km | 19 km | 17 km | 15 km | 25 km | 20 km | 18 km | 17 km | 24 km | 24 km | 24 km |
Cloud layers and weather: Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0).
Score = activity (NOAA Kp and OVATION) × clear sky (MET Norway) × darkness × moonlight. Methodology
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What you would see from Anson
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 | -8° | -6° | 2,313 km |
| 3 | Below the horizon | -7° | -4° | 2,091 km |
| 4 | Below the horizon | -5° | -2° | 1,868 km |
| 5 | Below the horizon | -4° | -1° | 1,646 km |
| 6 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | -2° | 1° | 1,423 km |
| 7 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 0° | 4° | 1,201 km |
| 8 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 2° | 7° | 979 km |
| 9 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 4° | 11° | 756 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 next 24 h Overhead in the Arctic; low in the north from southern Norway, Sweden, Finland and northern Scotland.
- Kp 5 Minor storm (G1) camera in Anson 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.
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 Anson
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% | 84% | 9.8 h | 19° / 32°C |
| October | 0% | 86% | 10.6 h | 13° / 27°C |
| November | 0% | 84% | 11.5 h | 6° / 20°C |
| December | 0% | 73% | 12.0 h | 1° / 15°C |
| January | 0% | 76% | 11.9 h | 0° / 14°C |
| February | 0% | 69% | 11.0 h | 1° / 16°C |
| March | 0% | 72% | 10.3 h | 7° / 22°C |
| April | 0% | 77% | 9.0 h | 11° / 27°C |
Nights when Anson could catch it in photos
Since 1995, nights with Kp 5.3 or more while it was dark here — a red or green glow low on the horizon.
- 3 July 2026 · Kp 7.0
- 18 April 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 17 April 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 2 April 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 21 March 2026 · Kp 6.3
- 20 March 2026 · Kp 7.0
- 13 March 2026 · Kp 6.0
- 21 February 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 14 February 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 4 February 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 20 January 2026 · Kp 7.3
- 19 January 2026 · Kp 7.7
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Abilene Regional Airport (ABI) · 43 km
- Typical low / high in January
- 0° / 14°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 Anson?
From Anson the aurora is too low for the naked eye except in the most extreme storms, but in severe storms (about Kp 5.3 or more) cameras record a red glow low in the north.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Anson?
Around Anson 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 Anson?
Anson 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 Anson?
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 Anson share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- City of Anson 0 km
- Jones County 2 km
- Funston 9 km
- Corinth 11 km
- Radium 12 km
- Plainview 13 km
- Truby 13 km
- New Hope 15 km
- Neinda 19 km
- Tuxedo 20 km
- Avoca 21 km
- Stamford 23 km
- Pastura 25 km
- Hamlin 26 km
- City of Hamlin 27 km
- Flat Top 35 km