Aurora Borealis in Gordon Head
Canada · 48.48°, -123.32° · geomagnetic 53.8° · needs Kp 7
Tonight in Gordon Head
1%
Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Gordon Head 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 Gordon Head
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 Gordon Head 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 Gordon Head
Revon aurora model over the NOAA Kp forecast and 27-day outlook
How often the aurora borealis reaches Gordon Head
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, Gordon Head 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11.5 | 10.3 | 8.7 | 6.5 | 3.8 | 0.8 | 2.6 | 5.5 | 7.9 | 9.8 | 11.2 | 11.8 |
Solar declination and hour angle at −18°
Getting clear of the light
Gordon Head is small enough that its own lights are a minor problem — the centre reads Bortle 4. Walking to the edge of town is often escape enough.
- 5 km east-north-east — around Juan de Fuca Electoral Area → Bortle 4
- 5 km east-north-east — around Juan de Fuca Electoral Area → 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, May, September and August came out ahead in Gordon Head. 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 Gordon Head 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, 1,313 km north-north-west in United States.
| Gordon Head | Juneau | |
|---|---|---|
| Kp needed | 7 | 5 |
| Nights per year | 3.2 | 28.7 |
| Geomagnetic latitude | 53.8° | 61.6° |
Confirmed reports from this area
56 verified sightings were logged within 300 km of Gordon Head 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 Gordon Head
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 Gordon Head.
- Blenkinsop Lake — lake3.2 km west
- Beaver Lake — lake6.7 km west-north-west
- Sayward Beach — beach6.7 km north-west
- Eagle Beach — beach7.5 km north-west
- Observatory Hill — hill8.4 km west-north-west
- Bear Hill — hill9.2 km north-west
Places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where to stay
Anywhere on the outskirts of Gordon Head will do; what matters is being able to step outside and check the sky without a drive first.
- Clarion Collection Sea View 3.1 km from the centre
- Seaview Suites Victoria 3.1 km from the centre
- Howard Johnson Hotel And Suites Victoria Elk Lake 5.5 km from the centre
- Howard Johnson Htl And Suites 5.6 km from the centre
- Super 8 Motel - Saanichton Victoria Airport 13.5 km from the centre
- Super 8 Motel - Victoria Airport 13.6 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 Gordon Head 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 Gordon Head forecast and pushes an alert when the odds for tonight clear your threshold — no checking, no guessing.
Common questions about the aurora borealis in Gordon Head
Can you see the aurora borealis from Gordon Head?
Yes. On the last 10.0 years of NOAA Kp records, Gordon Head 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 Gordon Head?
Kp 7. Gordon Head sits at geomagnetic latitude 53.8°, 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 Gordon Head?
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 Gordon Head?
The centre of Gordon Head reads Bortle 4. The nearest sky at Bortle 4 is about 5 km east-north-east around Juan de Fuca Electoral Area. On a marginal night that drive matters more than the forecast does.
Where is the nearest place to Gordon Head with reliable aurora borealis?
Juneau, United States — 1,313 km north-north-west. It needs only Kp 5 and averages 28.7 viable nights a year against 3.2 in Gordon Head.
Nearby towns
Forecasts for places within reach of Gordon Head.