Aurora Borealis in Edmonton

Canada · 53.55°, -113.47° · geomagnetic 60.1° · needs Kp 5

Tonight in Edmonton

30%

Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Edmonton 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.

Tonight Sun 02 Aug
30%
18
20
22
00
02
04
06
Tomorrow Mon 3 Aug
12%
Hour-by-hour for this night is in the app
Tuesday Tue 4 Aug
2%
Hour-by-hour for this night is in the app

Unlock every hour in the app

Updated 2026-08-02 20:20 UTC

The next 30 nights in Edmonton

Every night to come, scored the same way as tonight. The best of the open week is Sunday 2 Aug at 30%. Not one of the seven reaches the Kp 5 that Edmonton needs, which is normal rather than unlucky — it averages 24.3 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.

Low activity for the next few days. Moderate aurora expected on August 19th.

Sun 2
30%
Kp 4.7
Mon 3
12%
Kp 3.3
Tue 4
2%
Kp 1.3
Wed 5
15%
Kp 3.0
Thu 6
16%
Kp 3.0
Fri 7
3%
Kp 2.0
Sat 8
3%
Kp 2.0

Nights 8–30 unlock in the Revon app

See all 30 nights for Edmonton

Revon aurora model over the NOAA Kp forecast and 27-day outlook

How often the aurora borealis reaches Edmonton

24.3 nights a year, averaged across 10.0 years of records

Storm levelNights / year
Kp 483.4
Kp 528.7
Kp 69.3
Kp 73.2
Kp 81.2

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 Edmonton sees the aurora borealis most winters.

Hours of true darkness, month by month

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
11.710.38.45.40.00.00.04.07.49.711.412.1

Solar declination and hour angle at −18°

Nothing to see from May to July

Through those months the sun never falls more than 18° below the Edmonton horizon, so the sky never darkens fully. Plan around the darker half of the year.

Getting clear of the light

With 1,010,899 people around you, the sky over central Edmonton is Bortle 8. The glow hides anything but the brightest display, so the drive out matters more here than the forecast does.

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 October came out ahead in Edmonton. 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 Edmonton viewing season.

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, 991 km north in Canada.

EdmontonYellowknife
Kp needed53
Nights per year24.3 171.4
Geomagnetic latitude60.1° 68.6°

See the Yellowknife forecast

Confirmed reports from this area

145 verified sightings were logged within 300 km of Edmonton 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 Edmonton

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 Edmonton.

Places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)

Where to stay

Staying central in Edmonton is fine for everything except the aurora itself — you will still need to drive out. If seeing it matters more than convenience, base yourself on the edge of town facing your dark spot.

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 Edmonton and the sky was dark enough to show it.

DatePeak
2026-03-24Kp 5.0
2026-03-23Kp 5.0
2026-03-22Kp 6.67
2026-03-21Kp 6.0
2026-03-20Kp 7.0

NOAA planetary Kp

Know when it is worth going outside

Revon watches the Edmonton forecast and pushes an alert when the odds for tonight clear your threshold — no checking, no guessing.

Get aurora alerts on iPhone

Common questions about the aurora borealis in Edmonton

Can you see the aurora borealis from Edmonton?

Yes. On the last 10.0 years of NOAA Kp records, Edmonton had about 24.3 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 Edmonton?

Kp 5. Edmonton sits at geomagnetic latitude 60.1°, 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 Edmonton?

September, March and October. Those months scored highest once both conditions are counted together: geomagnetic activity and enough hours of real darkness. From May to July the sky over Edmonton never gets fully dark, so nothing is visible however strong the storm.

Where can you escape the light pollution near Edmonton?

The centre of Edmonton reads Bortle 8. The nearest sky at Bortle 4 is about 72 km north-west around County of Barrhead. On a marginal night that drive matters more than the forecast does.

Where is the nearest place to Edmonton with reliable aurora borealis?

Yellowknife, Canada — 991 km north. It needs only Kp 3 and averages 171.4 viable nights a year against 24.3 in Edmonton.

Nearby towns

Forecasts for places within reach of Edmonton.