Wisconsin, United StatesMagnetic latitude 54.4°Population 10,799181 m above sea level
Northern lights in Marinette
Marinette 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 945 nights.
Right now
It is still light here. Darkness starts at 18:59.
Updates every minute while this page is open.
Tonight in one minute
Yes — good chance tonight
- Solar activity Strong enough: Kp 4.7 expected, 4 needed here.
- Sky Mostly clear (6% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 18:59 to 06:11. A bright moon (78%) washes out faint displays.
What to do: Go somewhere dark around 19:00, give your eyes 15 minutes to adjust and look north, low over the horizon.
Wednesday 21 October — Good chance · Kp 4.7 · best around 19:00 · Forecast cloud: 6%. · Reliability: medium
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 12:33 local time
Good chance
Best around 19:00. Forecast max Kp 4.7 (this place needs 4), average cloud 6%.
- Dark enough
- 18:59 – 06:11
- Sunset
- 17:55 · sunrise 07:15
- Moon
- 78% · ↑ 15:52 · ↓ 03:05
- 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 (358°)
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, 19 | Wed, 22 | Thu, 01 | Thu, 04 | Thu, 19 | Thu, 22 | Fri, 01 | Fri, 04 | Fri, 19 | Fri, 22 | Sat, 01 | Sat, 04 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 6% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Mid cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 55% | 100% | 68% |
| High cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 19% | 15% | 14% | 32% |
| Temperature | 13 °C | 12 °C | 10 °C | 9 °C | 12 °C | 11 °C | 10 °C | 10 °C | 14 °C | 13 °C | 12 °C | 12 °C |
| Feels like | 13 °C | 12 °C | 10 °C | 8 °C | 12 °C | 11 °C | 10 °C | 9 °C | 14 °C | 13 °C | 12 °C | 12 °C |
| Wind | 2 m/s | 1 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 4 m/s | 4 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 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 Marinette
The aurora only shows through clear skies, so the weather matters as much as the Kp index. Here is the general forecast for Marinette: temperature, wind and the chance of rain for the coming days.
Planning further ahead? See the hour-by-hour weather forecast for Marinette on Atlas of Seasons.
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What you would see from Marinette
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 Marinette 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 eye in Marinette Overhead in the Arctic; low in the north from southern Norway, Sweden, Finland and northern Scotland.
- Kp 5 Minor storm (G1) next 24 h 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
Bright suburban sky. Strong sky glow washes out faint aurora. Head out of town for anything but a bright display.
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 horizon towards the north is open (terrain below 0.1°), 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 Marinette
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
September has been the best month (11% of nights), followed by March (10%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 11% | 57% | 9.1 h | 11° / 22°C |
| October | 7% | 48% | 10.9 h | 5° / 14°C |
| November | 4% | 34% | 12.0 h | -2° / 6°C |
| December | 3% | 33% | 12.6 h | -9° / -2°C |
| January | 5% | 47% | 12.4 h | -14° / -5°C |
| February | 7% | 49% | 11.4 h | -13° / -3°C |
| March | 10% | 52% | 9.9 h | -6° / 4°C |
| April | 4% | 31% | 8.1 h | 0° / 11°C |
Aurora nights in Marinette 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
- Austin Straubel International Airport (GRB) · 79 km
- Typical low / high in September
- 11° / 22°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 Marinette?
Marinette 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 Marinette?
Face north (about 358° 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 Marinette?
Over 2005–2025, September gave the best odds in Marinette (11% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by March (10%).
When is the aurora season in Marinette?
Marinette 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 Marinette?
Strong sky glow washes out faint aurora. Head out of town for anything but a bright display. A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the north-north-east.
When was the aurora last possible in Marinette?
Activity last reached storm level (Kp 5 or more) during darkness in Marinette on 4 October 2026 (Kp 5.0) — 945 such nights since 1995. Here the aurora also appears on many quieter nights.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Marinette share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- City of Marinette 1 km
- City of Menominee 2 km
- Bayside Mobile Estates 4 km
- Kew 7 km
- Eagles Nest 10 km
- Bagley Junction 10 km
- Birch Creek 12 km
- Town of Peshtigo 12 km
- Rubys Corner 12 km
- Township of Menominee 13 km
- Town of Porterfield 13 km
- Porterfield 14 km
- Walsh 14 km
- Ingallston 15 km
- Hansen 16 km
- Miles 16 km
- Carbondale 20 km
- Town of Egg Harbor 22 km
- Goll 22 km
- Johnson Landing 23 km
- Town of Lake 23 km
- Loomis 23 km
- Wagner 24 km
- Township of Ingallston 25 km
- Wallace 25 km
- Town of Wagner 25 km
- McAllister 26 km
- Beach Grove 27 km
- Township of Mellen 27 km
- Egg Harbor 27 km
- Village of Egg Harbor 27 km
- Arthur Bay 28 km
- Town of Pound 28 km
- Packard 29 km
- Fish Creek 30 km
- Ingalls 31 km
- Beaver 31 km
- Town of Gibraltar 31 km
- Coleman 32 km
- Village of Coleman 32 km