Washington, United StatesMagnetic latitude 53.8°Population 7,275581 m above sea level
Northern lights in Mead
Mead needs an active night: from about Kp 4.3 the aurora appears low over the north-north-east horizon, and it rises higher as activity grows. Since 1995 that level (Kp 4.7) was reached during darkness here on 902 nights.
Right now
It is still light here. Darkness starts at 19:05.
Updates every minute while this page is open.
Tonight in one minute
Not tonight
- Solar activity Too weak: Kp 1.7 expected, 4.3 needed here.
- Sky Partly cloudy (65% cloud) — look for gaps.
- Darkness Dark from 19:05 to 06:04.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
- Detailed forecast Fri 16 1.7 No · Kp 1.7
- 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 Photos only · Kp 3
- Wed 21 4 Unlikely · Kp 4
- Thu 22 4 Photos only · Kp 4
- Fri 23 3 Photos only · 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 Good chance · Kp 5
- Sat 31 5 Good chance · Kp 5
- Sun 1 3 Unlikely · Kp 3
- Mon 2 2 No · Kp 2
- Tue 3 2 No · Kp 2
- Wed 4 2 No · Kp 2
- Thu 5 3 Unlikely · Kp 3
- Fri 6 3 Unlikely · Kp 3
Saturday 31 October — Good chance · Kp 5 · best around 00:00 · No cloud forecast this far ahead; in October about 51% of nights are clear here. · 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 09:28 local time
Unlikely
Best around 19:00. Forecast max Kp 1.7 (this place needs 4.3), average cloud 65%.
- Dark enough
- 19:05 – 06:04
- Sunset
- 17:58 · sunrise 07:11
- Moon
- 32% · ↑ 13:46 · ↓ 21:22
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 4.3
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 2.7 (a red glow low in the north-north-east).
- Look towards
- north-north-east (16°)
Score = activity (NOAA Kp and OVATION) × clear sky (MET Norway) × darkness × moonlight. Methodology
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What you would see from Mead
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 | 2° | 7° | 967 km |
| 3 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 5° | 11° | 745 km |
| 4 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 9° | 18° | 523 km |
| 5 | Visible to the north-north-east | 18° | 32° | 300 km |
| 6 | Visible to the north-north-east | 53° | 68° | 78 km |
| 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 next 24 h Only under the auroral oval: northern Norway, Swedish and Finnish Lapland, Iceland, Alaska, northern Canada.
- Kp 3 Unsettled camera in Mead Bright in the Arctic; low on the horizon in central Scandinavia and southern Iceland.
- Kp 4 Active eye in Mead 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
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 15 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 horizon towards the north-north-east is open (terrain below 1.2°), so low aurora is not blocked.
From elevation data (AWS Terrain Tiles) along seven lines of sight up to 30 km.
Best months to see the aurora in Mead
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
September has been the best month (5% of nights), followed by April (4%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 5% | 71% | 9.1 h | 8° / 23°C |
| October | 3% | 51% | 10.9 h | 2° / 13°C |
| November | 1% | 26% | 12.1 h | -3° / 4°C |
| December | 0.6% | 26% | 13.0 h | -8° / -2°C |
| January | 0.6% | 28% | 12.5 h | -8° / -2°C |
| February | 3% | 42% | 11.4 h | -8° / 0°C |
| March | 2% | 40% | 9.9 h | -3° / 6°C |
| April | 4% | 48% | 7.8 h | 0° / 11°C |
Aurora nights in Mead 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 6.3
- 18 April 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 17 April 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 2 April 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 1 April 2026 · Kp 5.0
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Spokane International Airport (GEG) · 21 km
- Typical low / high in September
- 8° / 23°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 Mead?
Mead needs an active night: from about Kp 4.3 the aurora appears low over the north-north-east horizon, and it rises higher as activity grows.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Mead?
Face north-north-east (about 16° from true north). At Kp 4.3 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 18° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
What is the best month to see the aurora in Mead?
Over 2005–2025, September gave the best odds in Mead (5% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by April (4%).
When is the aurora season in Mead?
Mead 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 Mead?
Some sky glow from nearby lights. Moderate displays are fine; faint ones are easier a few kilometres out. A noticeably darker area starts about 15 km to the north-north-east.
When was the aurora last possible in Mead?
Activity last reached storm level (Kp 5 or more) during darkness in Mead on 4 October 2026 (Kp 5.0) — 902 such nights since 1995. Here the aurora also appears on many quieter nights.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Mead share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Orchard Prairie 5 km
- Colbert 7 km
- Buckeye 8 km
- Green Bluff 9 km
- Hamann Corner 9 km
- Peone 10 km