Washington, United StatesMagnetic latitude 54.5°Population 1,597497 m above sea level
Can you see the northern lights in Kettle Falls?
From Kettle Falls the aurora is seen only during geomagnetic storms (about Kp 5.3 or more), usually as a glow low in the north-north-east. Cameras often pick it up before the eye does. Since 1995 that level (Kp 5.3) was reached during darkness here on 413 nights.
Right now
It is still light here. Darkness starts at 19:04.
Latest measured half-hour activity worldwide: Hp30 0.3.
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 3 expected, 5.3 needed here.
- Sky Overcast (96% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 19:04 to 06:10.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
Thursday 22 October — Photos only · Kp 4 · best around 00:00 · Forecast cloud: 15%. · 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 15:36 local time
Unlikely
Best around 19:00. Forecast max Kp 3.0 (this place needs 5.3), average cloud 96%.
- Dark enough
- 19:04 – 06:10
- Sunset
- 17:56 · sunrise 07:18
- Moon
- 53% · ↑ 15:01 · ↓ 23:33
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 5.3 (Kp 4 with an open horizon)
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 3.7 (a red glow low in the north-north-east).
- Look towards
- north-north-east (16°)
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 | Sun, 19 | Sun, 22 | Mon, 01 | Mon, 04 | Mon, 19 | Mon, 22 | Tue, 01 | Tue, 04 | Tue, 19 | Tue, 22 | Wed, 01 | Wed, 04 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Mid cloud | 0% | 0% | 14% | 44% | 64% | 75% | 61% | 32% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| High cloud | 62% | 95% | 99% | 83% | 28% | 48% | 52% | 46% | 0% | 0% | 3% | 7% |
| Temperature | 13 °C | 9 °C | 7 °C | 7 °C | 13 °C | 10 °C | 8 °C | 6 °C | 15 °C | 11 °C | 8 °C | 7 °C |
| Feels like | 13 °C | 9 °C | 7 °C | 7 °C | 13 °C | 10 °C | 7 °C | 5 °C | 15 °C | 11 °C | 8 °C | 7 °C |
| Wind | 0 m/s | 1 m/s | 1 m/s | 1 m/s | 1 m/s | 1 m/s | 1 m/s | 2 m/s | 1 m/s | 1 m/s | 1 m/s | 1 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 Kettle Falls
The aurora only shows through clear skies, so the weather matters as much as the Kp index. Here is the general forecast for Kettle Falls: temperature, wind and the chance of rain for the coming days.
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What you would see from Kettle Falls
Facing north-north-east. 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° | 890 km |
| 3 | Below the horizon | 6° | 13° | 667 km |
| 4 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 11° | 22° | 445 km |
| 5 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 24° | 41° | 222 km |
| 6 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 7 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 8 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-west | – | – | – |
| 9 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-west | – | – | – |
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 camera in Kettle Falls Overhead in the Arctic; low in the north from southern Norway, Sweden, Finland and northern Scotland.
- Kp 5 Minor storm (G1) eye in Kettle Falls 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 north-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
The terrain rises to about 21° above the horizon towards the north-north-east. That hides low aurora: here you need about Kp 5.3 instead of Kp 4. A hilltop, shore or open field with a clear view to the north-north-east helps.
From elevation data (AWS Terrain Tiles) along seven lines of sight up to 30 km.
Best months to see the aurora in Kettle Falls
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
June has been the best month (1% of nights), followed by September (1%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 1% | 66% | 9.0 h | 7° / 21°C |
| October | 0.9% | 46% | 10.8 h | 1° / 12°C |
| November | 0.2% | 26% | 12.3 h | -6° / 2°C |
| December | 0.5% | 36% | 13.0 h | -12° / -4°C |
| January | 0% | 38% | 12.8 h | -12° / -4°C |
| February | 0.2% | 45% | 11.4 h | -12° / -2°C |
| March | 0.6% | 39% | 9.8 h | -6° / 3°C |
| April | 0.8% | 48% | 7.8 h | -2° / 10°C |
Aurora nights in Kettle Falls since 1995
Nights when Kp reached 5.3 or more while it was dark here.
Most recent strong nights
- 3 July 2026 · Kp 6.3
- 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 5.7
- 13 March 2026 · Kp 6.0
- 21 February 2026 · Kp 5.3
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Trail Regional Airport (YZZ) · 59 km
Spokane International Airport (GEG) · 117 km - Typical low / high in June
- 8° / 20°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 Kettle Falls?
From Kettle Falls the aurora is seen only during geomagnetic storms (about Kp 5.3 or more), usually as a glow low in the north-north-east. Cameras often pick it up before the eye does.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Kettle Falls?
Around Kettle Falls the aurora is often right overhead. Start by facing north-north-east, but look up and all around — in strong storms it can fill the whole sky and even appear behind you.
What is the best month to see the aurora in Kettle Falls?
Over 2005–2025, June gave the best odds in Kettle Falls (1% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by September (1%).
When is the aurora season in Kettle Falls?
Kettle Falls 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 Kettle Falls?
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 north-north-east.
When was the aurora last possible in Kettle Falls?
The most recent night in our data when activity reached the level Kettle Falls needs, during darkness, was 3 July 2026 (Kp 6.3). It has happened on 413 nights since 1995.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Kettle Falls share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- City of Kettle Falls 1 km
- Lindseys Mobile Home Park 1 km
- Yellow Pine Mobile Home Park 1 km
- Ward 2 km
- Greenwood 3 km
- Mountain View Mobile Home Park 3 km
- Harter 5 km
- Lakeside Mobile Home Park 5 km
- East Marcus 6 km
- Marcus 6 km
- Town of Marcus 6 km
- Echo 10 km
- Powell 11 km
- Bear 11 km
- Evans 12 km
- Boyds 14 km
- Bossburg 16 km
- Arzina 20 km
- Barstow 20 km
- Rice 22 km
- Ryan 24 km
- Onion Creek 26 km
- Dulwich 28 km
- Marble 29 km
- Orient 30 km
- Goldstake 36 km
- Northport 39 km
- Town of Northport 40 km