Aurora Borealis in British Columbia
Canada · 49.39°, -122.76° · geomagnetic 54.8° · needs Kp 5
Tonight in British Columbia
1%
Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. British Columbia needs Kp 5 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 British Columbia
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 5 that British Columbia needs, which is normal rather than unlucky — it averages 27.0 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 British Columbia
Revon aurora model over the NOAA Kp forecast and 27-day outlook
How often the aurora borealis reaches British Columbia
27.0 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 British Columbia 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 | 3.4 | 0.0 | 1.9 | 5.3 | 7.8 | 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 British Columbia horizon, so the sky never darkens fully. Plan around the darker half of the year.
Getting clear of the light
With 6,111,799 people around you, the sky over central British Columbia is Bortle 4. The glow hides anything but the brightest display, so the drive out matters more here than the forecast does.
- 13 km north — around Electoral Area A → Bortle 4
- 13 km north — around Electoral Area A → Bortle 4
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 British Columbia. 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 British Columbia 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 Juneau, 1,249 km north-north-west in United States.
| British Columbia | Juneau | |
|---|---|---|
| Kp needed | 5 | 5 |
| Nights per year | 27.0 | 28.7 |
| Geomagnetic latitude | 54.8° | 61.6° |
Confirmed reports from this area
57 verified sightings were logged within 300 km of British Columbia 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 British Columbia
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 British Columbia.
- Coquitlam Mountain — mountain3.9 km east-north-east
- Gabbro Lake — lake4.8 km east-north-east
- Talus Lake — lake5.8 km east-north-east
- Gabbro Mountain — mountain6.3 km east-north-east
- Helga Bay — bay8.7 km north-west
- Croker Island — island9.6 km west-north-west
Places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
The last nights it was visible here
Nights in the last decade when the storm was strong enough for British Columbia 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
Aurora forecasts across British Columbia
All 99 places in British Columbia with a forecast page, and the Kp each one needs.
- AbbotsfordKp 7
- Arbutus RidgeKp 7
- BlundellKp 7
- Brighouse-City CentreKp 7
- BroadmoorKp 7
- BrocklehurstKp 7
- BurnabyKp 7
- Campbell RiverKp 7
- CareyKp 7
- Central LonsdaleKp 7
- Central SaanichKp 7
- ChilliwackKp 7
- Chilliwack-DowntownKp 7
- ChinatownKp 7
- CloverdaleKp 7
- ColwoodKp 7
- CoquitlamKp 7
- CourtenayKp 7
- CranbrookKp 7
- DeltaKp 7
- DowntownKp 7
- Downtown EastsideKp 7
- Dunbar-SouthlandsKp 7
- DuncanKp 7
- East HastingsKp 7
- EdmondsKp 7
- EsquimaltKp 7
- FairviewKp 7
- FleetwoodKp 7
- Fort St. JohnKp 5
- Fraser HeightsKp 7
- Gordon HeadKp 7
- Grandview-WoodlandsKp 7
- GuildfordKp 7
- HaneyKp 7
- HarewoodKp 7
- Hastings-SunriseKp 7
- KamloopsKp 7
- KelownaKp 7
- Kensington-Cedar CottageKp 7
- KillarneyKp 7
- KitsilanoKp 7
- LadnerKp 7
- LangfordKp 7
- LangleyKp 7
- LougheedKp 7
- Lower LonsdaleKp 7
- MaillardvilleKp 7
- Maple RidgeKp 7
- MarpoleKp 7
- MaywoodKp 7
- MetrotownKp 7
- MissionKp 7
- Mount PleasantKp 7
- NanaimoKp 7
- New WestminsterKp 7
- NewtonKp 7
- North CowichanKp 7
- North DeltaKp 7
- North VancouverKp 7
- Oak BayKp 7
- Okanagan MissionKp 7
- PentictonKp 7
- Pitt MeadowsKp 7
- Port AlberniKp 7
- Port CoquitlamKp 7
- Port MoodyKp 7
- Prince GeorgeKp 5
- Renfrew-CollingwoodKp 7
- RichmondKp 7
- Riley ParkKp 7
- RutlandKp 7
- SaanichKp 7
- SeafairKp 7
- South GranvilleKp 7
- South SurreyKp 7
- SquamishKp 7
- StevestonKp 7
- SunsetKp 7
- SurreyKp 7
- Surrey City CentreKp 7
- TerraceKp 5
- TownlineKp 7
- TsawwassenKp 7
- University Endowment LandsKp 7
- VancouverKp 7
- Vedder CrossingKp 7
- VernonKp 7
- VictoriaKp 7
- Victoria-DowntownKp 7
- Victoria-FraserviewKp 7
- Walnut GroveKp 7
- West EndKp 7
- West KelownaKp 7
- West VancouverKp 7
- Westwood PlateauKp 7
- WhalleyKp 7
- White RockKp 7
- WilloughbyKp 7
Know when it is worth going outside
Revon watches the British Columbia forecast and pushes an alert when the odds for tonight clear your threshold — no checking, no guessing.
Common questions about the aurora borealis in British Columbia
Can you see the aurora borealis from British Columbia?
Yes. On the last 10.0 years of NOAA Kp records, British Columbia had about 27.0 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 British Columbia?
Kp 5. British Columbia sits at geomagnetic latitude 54.8°, 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 British Columbia?
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 British Columbia never gets fully dark, so nothing is visible however strong the storm.
Where can you escape the light pollution near British Columbia?
The centre of British Columbia reads Bortle 4. The nearest sky at Bortle 4 is about 13 km north around Electoral Area A. On a marginal night that drive matters more than the forecast does.
Where is the nearest place to British Columbia with reliable aurora borealis?
Juneau, United States — 1,249 km north-north-west. It needs only Kp 5 and averages 28.7 viable nights a year against 27.0 in British Columbia.
Nearby towns
Forecasts for places within reach of British Columbia.