Aurora Borealis in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu
Canada · 45.31°, -73.26° · geomagnetic 54.7° · needs Kp 7
Tonight in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu
1%
Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu 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 Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu
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 Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu 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 Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu
Revon aurora model over the NOAA Kp forecast and 27-day outlook
How often the aurora borealis reaches Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu
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, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11.4 | 10.3 | 8.9 | 6.9 | 4.8 | 3.2 | 4.0 | 6.1 | 8.2 | 9.9 | 11.1 | 11.7 |
Solar declination and hour angle at −18°
Getting clear of the light
The sky over Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu reads Bortle 7. Getting clear of the built-up area makes a visible difference on a marginal night.
- 60 km east — around Lac-Brome → Bortle 5
- 111 km north-north-west — around Saint-Côme → 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 Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. 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 Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu 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, 2,486 km north-north-east in Greenland.
| Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu | Nuuk | |
|---|---|---|
| Kp needed | 7 | 3 |
| Nights per year | 3.2 | 171.4 |
| Geomagnetic latitude | 54.7° | 72.6° |
Confirmed reports from this area
51 verified sightings were logged within 300 km of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu 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 Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu
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 Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu.
- Jardin de la Montgolfière — park3.1 km north-west
- Parc du Complexe-Sportif-J.-A.-Papineau — park3.2 km north
- Île Sainte-Thérèse — island6.4 km north
- Île Sainte-Marie — island8.8 km north
- Mont Saint-Grégoire — mountain10.4 km east-north-east
- Bassin de Chambly — lake17.2 km north
Places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where to stay
Anywhere on the outskirts of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu will do; what matters is being able to step outside and check the sky without a drive first.
- Gouverneur Relais St Jean 2.1 km from the centre
- Comfort Inn St. Jean-Sur-Richelieu 3.3 km from the centre
- Holiday Inn Express St Jean Sur Richelieu 3.3 km from the centre
- Gite Du Mont Albert 11.4 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 Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu 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 Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu forecast and pushes an alert when the odds for tonight clear your threshold — no checking, no guessing.
Common questions about the aurora borealis in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu
Can you see the aurora borealis from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu?
Yes. On the last 10.0 years of NOAA Kp records, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu 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 Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu?
Kp 7. Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu sits at geomagnetic latitude 54.7°, 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 Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu?
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 Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu?
The centre of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu reads Bortle 7. The nearest sky at Bortle 4 is about 111 km north-north-west around Saint-Côme. On a marginal night that drive matters more than the forecast does.
Where is the nearest place to Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu with reliable aurora borealis?
Nuuk, Greenland — 2,486 km north-north-east. It needs only Kp 3 and averages 171.4 viable nights a year against 3.2 in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu.
Nearby towns
Forecasts for places within reach of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu.