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Northern Lights in Virginia, United States

In Virginia the aurora is visible from about Kp 7.3, first near Arlington. Poquoson has the darkest skies among the larger places.

Next chance in Virginia

None of the next 20 nights looks active enough here: you need about Kp 7.3 by eye or Kp 5.7 for photos. Big storms usually show up 1–3 days ahead — this page updates by itself.

PlaceKp neededKp for photosLook towardsLight pollutionPopulation
Arlington 7.3 5.7 N City sky 207,627
Alexandria 7.3 5.7 N City sky 159,467
Centreville 7.3 5.7 N City sky 71,135
Reston 7.3 5.7 N Bright suburban sky 58,404
Leesburg 7.3 5.7 N Bright suburban sky 51,209
McLean 7.3 5.7 N Bright suburban sky 48,115
Ashburn 7.3 5.7 N Bright suburban sky 43,511
Manassas 7.3 5.7 N City sky 41,764
Lake Ridge 7.3 5.7 N Suburban sky 41,058
Burke 7.3 5.7 N Bright suburban sky 41,055
Annandale 7.3 5.7 N City sky 41,008
Linton Hall 7.3 5.7 N Bright suburban sky 35,725
Oakton 7.3 5.7 N City sky 34,166
Oak Hill 7.3 5.7 N Bright suburban sky 33,811
Springfield 7.3 5.7 N City sky 30,484
West Falls Church 7.3 5.7 N Bright suburban sky 29,207
Sterling 7.3 5.7 N City sky 27,822
Winchester 7.3 5.7 N City sky 27,284
Fairfax 7.3 5.7 N City sky 24,013
Manassas Park 7.3 5.7 N Bright suburban sky 15,726
Front Royal 7.3 5.7 N Suburban sky 15,070
Falls Church 7.3 5.7 N City sky 13,892
Dale City 7.7 6 N Bright suburban sky 65,969
Harrisonburg 7.7 6 N City sky 52,538
Charlottesville 7.7 6 N Bright suburban sky 46,597
Fredericksburg 7.7 6 N Bright suburban sky 28,118
Staunton 7.7 6 N Bright suburban sky 24,416
Waynesboro 7.7 6 N Bright suburban sky 21,491
Culpeper 7.7 6 N Bright suburban sky 17,557
Richmond 8 6.3 N City sky 226,610
Roanoke 8 6.3 N City sky 100,011
Lynchburg 8 6.3 N Bright suburban sky 79,812
West Lynchburg 8 6.3 N City sky 65,517
Tuckahoe 8 6.3 N Bright suburban sky 44,990
Blacksburg 8 6.3 N Bright suburban sky 44,215
Mechanicsville 8 6.3 N Suburban sky 36,348
Salem 8 6.3 N City sky 25,432
Christiansburg 8 6.3 N Bright suburban sky 21,943
Radford 8 6.3 N Bright suburban sky 17,403
Virginia Beach 8.3 6.7 N Bright suburban sky 454,808
Norfolk 8.3 6.7 N City sky 238,005
Chesapeake 8.3 6.7 N City sky 235,429
Newport News 8.3 6.7 N City sky 186,247
East Hampton 8.3 6.7 N City sky 147,993
Hampton 8.3 6.7 N City sky 137,148
Portsmouth Heights 8.3 6.7 N City sky 99,049
Portsmouth 8.3 6.7 N City sky 96,201
Suffolk 8.3 6.7 N Bright suburban sky 88,161
South Suffolk 8.3 6.7 N Bright suburban sky 80,690
Danville 8.3 6.7 N City sky 42,082
Petersburg 8.3 6.7 N City sky 32,477
Hopewell 8.3 6.7 N Bright suburban sky 22,378
Colonial Heights 8.3 6.7 N Bright suburban sky 17,820
Bristol 8.3 6.7 N City sky 17,141
Williamsburg 8.3 6.7 N Bright suburban sky 15,052
Martinsville 8.3 6.7 N Bright suburban sky 13,645
Poquoson 8.3 6.7 N Rural to suburban 12,059

Best months in Virginia

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

Activity of Kp 7.3 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) camera in Arlington Northern England, Denmark, northern Germany and Poland, the US Midwest — often clearer in photos than to the eye.
  6. Kp 7 Strong storm (G3) eye in Arlington 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) 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 5,276 villages and districts nearby.

Smaller places