Aurora Borealis in Fort McMurray

Canada · 56.73°, -111.38° · geomagnetic 63.4° · needs Kp 3

Tonight in Fort McMurray

31%

Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Fort McMurray needs Kp 3 before anything clears the northern horizon, and tonight the forecast peaks at Kp 4.7 — comfortably over the line.

Tonight Sun 02 Aug
31%
18
20
22
00
02
04
06
Tomorrow Mon 3 Aug
20%
Hour-by-hour for this night is in the app
Tuesday Tue 4 Aug
4%
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 Fort McMurray

Every night to come, scored the same way as tonight. The best of the open week is Sunday 2 Aug at 31%. 4 of the seven reach the Kp 3 that Fort McMurray needs, topping out at Kp 4.7. The 23 nights past the seven-day window move with the 27-day solar rotation and are updated daily in the app.

Moderate aurora activity tonight around 4 AM. Similar conditions expected on August 19th.

Sun 2
31%
Kp 4.7
Mon 3
20%
Kp 3.3
Tue 4
4%
Kp 1.3
Wed 5
27%
Kp 3.0
Thu 6
27%
Kp 3.0
Fri 7
19%
Kp 2.0
Sat 8
19%
Kp 2.0

Nights 8–30 unlock in the Revon app

See all 30 nights for Fort McMurray

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

How often the aurora borealis reaches Fort McMurray

132.4 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

You are inside the auroral oval

Fort McMurray sits far enough northern that quiet conditions are enough. What limits you here is cloud and moonlight, not geomagnetic activity.

Hours of true darkness, month by month

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
11.910.38.14.50.00.00.02.46.99.611.512.3

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 Fort McMurray horizon, so the sky never darkens fully. Plan around the darker half of the year.

Getting clear of the light

The sky over Fort McMurray reads Bortle 7. Getting clear of the built-up area makes a visible difference on a marginal night.

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, March, September and October came out ahead in Fort McMurray. 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 Fort McMurray 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, 659 km north-north-west in Canada.

Fort McMurrayYellowknife
Kp needed33
Nights per year132.4 171.4
Geomagnetic latitude63.4° 68.6°

See the Yellowknife forecast

Confirmed reports from this area

13 verified sightings were logged within 300 km of Fort McMurray 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 Fort McMurray

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 Fort McMurray.

Places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)

Where to stay

Anywhere on the outskirts of Fort McMurray will do; what matters is being able to step outside and check the sky without a drive first.

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 Fort McMurray and the sky was dark enough to show it.

DatePeak
2026-03-30Kp 3.0
2026-03-29Kp 3.33
2026-03-28Kp 3.67
2026-03-27Kp 3.33
2026-03-26Kp 3.0

NOAA planetary Kp

Know when it is worth going outside

Revon watches the Fort McMurray 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 Fort McMurray

Can you see the aurora borealis from Fort McMurray?

Yes. On the last 10.0 years of NOAA Kp records, Fort McMurray had about 132.4 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 Fort McMurray?

Kp 3. Fort McMurray sits at geomagnetic latitude 63.4°, and the auroral oval only reaches that far from the pole once activity hits Kp 3.

When is the best time of year to see the aurora borealis in Fort McMurray?

March, September 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 Fort McMurray never gets fully dark, so nothing is visible however strong the storm.

Where can you escape the light pollution near Fort McMurray?

The centre of Fort McMurray reads Bortle 7. The nearest sky at Bortle 4 is about 23 km east around Wood Buffalo. On a marginal night that drive matters more than the forecast does.

Where is the nearest place to Fort McMurray with reliable aurora borealis?

Yellowknife, Canada — 659 km north-north-west. It needs only Kp 3 and averages 171.4 viable nights a year against 132.4 in Fort McMurray.

Nearby towns

Forecasts for places within reach of Fort McMurray.