Aurora Borealis in Baie-Comeau
Canada · 49.22°, -68.15° · geomagnetic 58.5° · needs Kp 5
Tonight in Baie-Comeau
25%
Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Baie-Comeau needs Kp 5, and tonight the forecast peaks at Kp 5.1. That is on the threshold rather than over it, so cloud and moonlight will decide the night.
Updated 2026-08-02 20:20 UTC
The next 30 nights in Baie-Comeau
Every night to come, scored the same way as tonight. The best of the open week is Sunday 2 Aug at 25%. One of the seven reaches the Kp 5 that Baie-Comeau needs: Sunday 2 Aug, at Kp 5.1. The 23 nights past the seven-day window move with the 27-day solar rotation and are updated daily in the app.
Nights 8–30 unlock in the Revon app
See all 30 nights for Baie-Comeau
Revon aurora model over the NOAA Kp forecast and 27-day outlook
How often the aurora borealis reaches Baie-Comeau
27.2 nights a year, averaged across 10.0 years of records
| Storm level | Nights / year |
|---|---|
| Kp 4 | 83.4 |
| Kp 5 | 28.7 |
| Kp 6 | 9.3 |
| Kp 7 | 3.2 |
| Kp 8 | 1.2 |
NOAA planetary Kp, 2016-04-02 to 2026-03-30
Worth watching through the dark half of the year
Kp 5 is a moderate storm — not an everyday event, but common enough that a patient observer in Baie-Comeau sees the aurora borealis most winters.
Hours of true darkness, month by month
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11.6 | 10.3 | 8.7 | 6.3 | 3.5 | 0.0 | 2.1 | 5.3 | 7.9 | 9.8 | 11.3 | 11.9 |
Solar declination and hour angle at −18°
Nothing to see from June
Through those months the sun never falls more than 18° below the Baie-Comeau horizon, so the sky never darkens fully. Plan around the darker half of the year.
Getting clear of the light
Baie-Comeau is small enough that its own lights are a minor problem — the centre reads Bortle 3. Walking to the edge of town is often escape enough.
- 8 km west-north-west → Bortle 3
- 8 km west-north-west → Bortle 3
Falchi 2016 World Atlas (DOI: 10.5880/GFZ.1.4.2016.001)
The months that actually deliver
Counting only nights that were both stormy enough and dark enough, September, March and May came out ahead in Baie-Comeau. That is storm season and darkness overlapping — the equinoxes tend to be geomagnetically active, and the nights are already long by then.
Darkest nights of the coming year
A bright moon washes out a weak display as effectively as street lighting. These new moons fall inside the Baie-Comeau viewing season.
- 13 Aug 2026
- 11 Sep 2026
- 11 Oct 2026
- 09 Nov 2026
- 09 Dec 2026
- 07 Jan 2027
- 06 Feb 2027
Where it is close to a certainty
If you would rather plan a trip than wait for a storm, the nearest place with genuinely frequent aurora is Nuuk, 1,930 km north-north-east in Greenland.
| Baie-Comeau | Nuuk | |
|---|---|---|
| Kp needed | 5 | 3 |
| Nights per year | 27.2 | 171.4 |
| Geomagnetic latitude | 58.5° | 72.6° |
Where the horizon opens up near Baie-Comeau
The display sits low on the northern horizon, so what beats a better forecast is open ground facing that way. Height gets you above the town glow; water gives you an unbroken skyline. These are within a short drive of Baie-Comeau.
- Lac Aber — lake3.2 km north
- Anse du Moulin — bay3.8 km north-north-east
- Lac à la Chasse — lake4.5 km north-north-west
- Baie des Anglais — bay4.7 km north-east
- Pointe Saint-Pancrace — headland6.5 km north-east
- Mont Tibasse — mountain7.5 km north
Places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Places to watch from
Named viewpoints and reserves near Baie-Comeau that sit outside the worst of the light. Each puts the northern horizon over open ground instead of over rooftops.
- Halte Bec et Plumes 1.1 km
- Halte de la Pointe St-Gilles 1.6 km
- Halte Des Coquillages 1.8 km
- Lac Aux Canards 10.4 km
- Chute Aux Canards 10.8 km
Places from OpenStreetMap contributors
Where to stay
Anywhere on the outskirts of Baie-Comeau will do; what matters is being able to step outside and check the sky without a drive first.
- Le Grand Hôtel 0.5 km from the centre
Places from OpenStreetMap contributors — confirm before booking
The last nights it was visible here
Nights in the last decade when the storm was strong enough for Baie-Comeau and the sky was dark enough to show it.
| Date | Peak |
|---|---|
| 2026-03-24 | Kp 5.0 |
| 2026-03-23 | Kp 5.0 |
| 2026-03-22 | Kp 6.67 |
| 2026-03-21 | Kp 6.0 |
| 2026-03-20 | Kp 7.0 |
NOAA planetary Kp
Know when it is worth going outside
Revon watches the Baie-Comeau forecast and pushes an alert when the odds for tonight clear your threshold — no checking, no guessing.
Common questions about the aurora borealis in Baie-Comeau
Can you see the aurora borealis from Baie-Comeau?
Yes. On the last 10.0 years of NOAA Kp records, Baie-Comeau had about 27.2 nights a year when the storm was strong enough and the sky dark enough at the same time.
What Kp index do you need to see the aurora borealis in Baie-Comeau?
Kp 5. Baie-Comeau sits at geomagnetic latitude 58.5°, and the auroral oval only reaches that far from the pole once activity hits Kp 5. Storms that size occur about 28.7 nights a year.
When is the best time of year to see the aurora borealis in Baie-Comeau?
September, March and May. Those months scored highest once both conditions are counted together: geomagnetic activity and enough hours of real darkness. From June the sky over Baie-Comeau never gets fully dark, so nothing is visible however strong the storm.
Where can you escape the light pollution near Baie-Comeau?
The centre of Baie-Comeau reads Bortle 3. The nearest sky at Bortle 3 is about 8 km west-north-west. On a marginal night that drive matters more than the forecast does.
Where is the nearest place to Baie-Comeau with reliable aurora borealis?
Nuuk, Greenland — 1,930 km north-north-east. It needs only Kp 3 and averages 171.4 viable nights a year against 27.2 in Baie-Comeau.
Nearby towns
Forecasts for places within reach of Baie-Comeau.
- 🇨🇦 Rimouski - Canada90 km
- 🇨🇦 Sept-Îles - Canada168 km
- 🇨🇦 Rivière-du-Loup - Canada186 km
- 🇨🇦 Edmundston - Canada205 km
- 🇨🇦 Saguenay - Canada231 km
- 🇨🇦 Jonquière - Canada244 km
- 🇨🇦 Alma - Canada266 km
- 🇨🇦 Miramichi - Canada313 km