Aurora Borealis in Helena
United States · 46.59°, -112.04° · geomagnetic 53.4° · needs Kp 7
Tonight's aurora forecast for Helena
1%
Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Helena 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.
Get the full 30-night forecast in Revon
Updated 2026-09-08 10:36 UTC
Local aurora guide for Helena
Helena is located at 53.4° geomagnetic latitude. Auroras are typically visible when the planetary Kp index reaches 7 or higher.
With an average of 3.2 viable nights per year, patience is key for aurora viewing in Helena.
The record span for observations is from April 2, 2016, to March 30, 2026.
The best months for aurora viewing in Helena are May, September, and August.
These months align with periods of darker skies, increasing the chances of observing the aurora.
Helena experiences a Bortle 5 sky, indicating moderate light pollution.
Darker skies, rated Bortle 2, can be found 18 km north near Lewis and Clark County.
Areas with Bortle 5 conditions are also present 11 km south-south-east near Jefferson County.
Ryan Park is located 3.0 km north-north-west of Helena.
Spring Meadow Lake State Park is situated 3.7 km north-west of Helena.
Stemwinder Hill is 9.0 km west-north-west of Helena, and Scratchgravel Hills are 10.0 km north-north-west.
There have been 48 verified aurora reports within 300 km of Helena between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2016.
The data indicates an average of 3.2 viable aurora nights per year for Helena.
Notable qualifying nights with Kp values of 7.0 or higher occurred on March 20, 2026; January 20, 2026; January 19, 2026; November 12, 2025; and November 11, 2025.
Sources: Revon location dataset · Revon analysis of NOAA planetary Kp · Falchi 2016 World Atlas of artificial night sky brightness · GeoNames (CC BY 4.0) · Aurorasaurus verified positive reports
Know when it is worth going outside
Revon watches the Helena forecast and pushes an alert when the odds for tonight clear your threshold — no checking, no guessing.
Nearby towns
Forecasts for places within reach of Helena.