Aurora Borealis in Billings
United States · 45.78°, -108.50° · geomagnetic 53.0° · needs Kp 7
Tonight in Billings
1%
Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Billings needs Kp 7 to see anything at all, and tonight the forecast peaks at Kp 4.7. Short of the threshold, which is what most nights look like here.
Updated 2026-08-02 20:20 UTC
The next 30 nights in Billings
Every night to come, scored the same way as tonight. The best of the open week is Sunday 2 Aug at 1%. Not one of the seven reaches the Kp 7 that Billings needs, which is normal rather than unlucky — it averages 3.2 viable nights a year. 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 Billings
Revon aurora model over the NOAA Kp forecast and 27-day outlook
How often the aurora borealis reaches Billings
3.2 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
Wait for an alert; do not book a week
At Kp 7, Billings needs a severe geomagnetic storm before anything shows above the northern horizon. Storms that size arrive a handful of times per solar cycle and announce themselves a day or two ahead. Watching for one beats picking dates and hoping.
Hours of true darkness, month by month
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11.4 | 10.3 | 8.9 | 6.9 | 4.7 | 3.0 | 3.8 | 6.0 | 8.2 | 9.9 | 11.2 | 11.7 |
Solar declination and hour angle at −18°
Getting clear of the light
The sky over Billings reads Bortle 6. Getting clear of the built-up area makes a visible difference on a marginal night.
- 20 km east — around Yellowstone County → Bortle 3
- 20 km east — around Yellowstone County → 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, May, September and August came out ahead in Billings. 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 Billings 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 Yellowknife, 1,891 km north in Canada.
| Billings | Yellowknife | |
|---|---|---|
| Kp needed | 7 | 3 |
| Nights per year | 3.2 | 171.4 |
| Geomagnetic latitude | 53.0° | 68.6° |
Confirmed reports from this area
45 verified sightings were logged within 300 km of Billings between 2015-01-01 and 2016-12-31. Rare is not the same as impossible.
Aurorasaurus verified positive reports
Where the horizon opens up near Billings
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 Billings.
- Rocky Mountain College Park — park4.5 km west-north-west
- Rose Park — park5.2 km west
- Cherry Island — island5.5 km north-east
- Rimrocks — cliff6.5 km west-north-west
- Lake Elmo — lake6.6 km north-north-east
- Ninemile Hill — mountain9.6 km north-west
Places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
What to do with the daylight
Aurora watching is a night job, and in winter that leaves a short, bright day to fill. Close to Billings you will find KURL-AM (Billings), KBLG-AM (Billings) and KPQD-TV (Billings), and for a day when the cloud sits low, Yellowstone Art Museum are indoors and near by.
Keep the daylight loose: the sky decides the evening, and the forecast can turn within a few hours.
Places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where to stay
Anywhere on the outskirts of Billings will do; what matters is being able to step outside and check the sky without a drive first.
- Best Western Clock Tower Inn 0.1 km from the centre
- Best Westerns Clock Tower Inn 0.2 km from the centre
- Best Western Plus Clock Tower Inn 0.2 km from the centre
- Best Western Plus Clocktower Inn 0.2 km from the centre
- Dude Rancher Lodge 0.7 km from the centre
- Rimview Inn 1.3 km from the centre
Places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0) — confirm before booking
The last nights it was visible here
Nights in the last decade when the storm was strong enough for Billings and the sky was dark enough to show it.
| Date | Peak |
|---|---|
| 2026-03-20 | Kp 7.0 |
| 2026-01-20 | Kp 7.67 |
| 2026-01-19 | Kp 8.67 |
| 2025-11-12 | Kp 7.33 |
| 2025-11-11 | Kp 8.67 |
NOAA planetary Kp
Know when it is worth going outside
Revon watches the Billings forecast and pushes an alert when the odds for tonight clear your threshold — no checking, no guessing.
Common questions about the aurora borealis in Billings
Can you see the aurora borealis from Billings?
Yes. On the last 10.0 years of NOAA Kp records, Billings had about 3.2 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 Billings?
Kp 7. Billings sits at geomagnetic latitude 53.0°, and the auroral oval only reaches that far from the pole once activity hits Kp 7. Storms that size occur about 3.2 nights a year.
When is the best time of year to see the aurora borealis in Billings?
May, September and August. Those months scored highest once both conditions are counted together: geomagnetic activity and enough hours of real darkness.
Where can you escape the light pollution near Billings?
The centre of Billings reads Bortle 6. The nearest sky at Bortle 3 is about 20 km east around Yellowstone County. On a marginal night that drive matters more than the forecast does.
Where is the nearest place to Billings with reliable aurora borealis?
Yellowknife, Canada — 1,891 km north. It needs only Kp 3 and averages 171.4 viable nights a year against 3.2 in Billings.
Nearby towns
Forecasts for places within reach of Billings.