Aurora Borealis in New York
United States · 41.21°, -74.25° · geomagnetic 50.6° · needs Kp 7
Tonight in New York
1%
Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. New York needs Kp 7 to see anything at all, and tonight the forecast peaks at Kp 5.1. Short of the threshold, which is what most nights look like here.
Updated 2026-08-02 20:20 UTC
The next 30 nights in New York
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 New York 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 New York
Revon aurora model over the NOAA Kp forecast and 27-day outlook
How often the aurora borealis reaches New York
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, New York 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11.2 | 10.3 | 9.1 | 7.4 | 5.7 | 4.6 | 5.1 | 6.7 | 8.5 | 9.9 | 11.0 | 11.5 |
Solar declination and hour angle at −18°
Getting clear of the light
With 27,647,848 people around you, the sky over central New York is Bortle 7. The glow hides anything but the brightest display, so the drive out matters more here than the forecast does.
- 60 km north — around Town of Rochester → Bortle 5
- 63 km north-north-west — around Town of Wawarsing → 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 New York. 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 New York 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 Nuuk, 2,936 km north-north-east in Greenland.
| New York | Nuuk | |
|---|---|---|
| Kp needed | 7 | 3 |
| Nights per year | 3.2 | 171.4 |
| Geomagnetic latitude | 50.6° | 72.6° |
Confirmed reports from this area
63 verified sightings were logged within 300 km of New York 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 New York
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 New York.
- Bare Mountain — mountain3.2 km north-north-east
- Cairn Mountain — mountain3.5 km east-north-east
- Chapel Island — island4.1 km west
- Lions Park — park4.3 km west-north-west
- Spruce Pond — lake6.3 km east-north-east
- Kloibers Pond — lake7.1 km north-north-east
Places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
What to do with the daylight
Aurora watching is a night job, and in winter that leaves a short, bright day to fill. Close to New York you will find WTBQ-AM (Warwick), WKNJ-AM (Lakeside) and WFME-TV (West Milford), and for a day when the cloud sits low, Suffern Village Museum are indoors and near by.
Keep the daylight loose: the sky decides the evening, and the forecast can turn within a few hours.
Places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where to stay
Staying central in New York 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.
- Howard Johnson 13.6 km from the centre
- Hampton Inn Harriman Woodbury 14.9 km from the centre
- Sheraton Mahwah 14.1 km from the centre
- Courtyard by Marriott Mahwah 14.5 km from the centre
- Fairfield Inn & Suites Mahwah 14.5 km from the centre
- Doubletree By Hilton Mahwah 14.6 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 New York 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
Aurora forecasts across New York
All 2 places in New York with a forecast page, and the Kp each one needs.
- PlattsburghKp 7
- WatertownKp 7
Know when it is worth going outside
Revon watches the New York forecast and pushes an alert when the odds for tonight clear your threshold — no checking, no guessing.
Common questions about the aurora borealis in New York
Can you see the aurora borealis from New York?
Yes. On the last 10.0 years of NOAA Kp records, New York 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 New York?
Kp 7. New York sits at geomagnetic latitude 50.6°, 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 New York?
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 New York?
The centre of New York reads Bortle 7. The nearest sky at Bortle 4 is about 63 km north-north-west around Town of Wawarsing. On a marginal night that drive matters more than the forecast does.
Where is the nearest place to New York with reliable aurora borealis?
Nuuk, Greenland — 2,936 km north-north-east. It needs only Kp 3 and averages 171.4 viable nights a year against 3.2 in New York.
Nearby towns
Forecasts for places within reach of New York.