Aurora Borealis in Washington
United States · 47.30°, -121.84° · geomagnetic 52.9° · needs Kp 7
Tonight in Washington
1%
Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Washington 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 Washington
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 Washington 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 Washington
Revon aurora model over the NOAA Kp forecast and 27-day outlook
How often the aurora borealis reaches Washington
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, Washington 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 | 8.8 | 6.6 | 4.2 | 2.1 | 3.2 | 5.7 | 8.0 | 9.9 | 11.2 | 11.8 |
Solar declination and hour angle at −18°
Getting clear of the light
With 4,990,039 people around you, the sky over central Washington is Bortle 4. The glow hides anything but the brightest display, so the drive out matters more here than the forecast does.
- 9 km south-east — around King County → Bortle 4
- 9 km south-east — around King County → 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 Washington. 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 Washington 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, 1,482 km north-north-west in United States.
| Washington | Juneau | |
|---|---|---|
| Kp needed | 7 | 5 |
| Nights per year | 3.2 | 28.7 |
| Geomagnetic latitude | 52.9° | 61.6° |
Confirmed reports from this area
60 verified sightings were logged within 300 km of Washington 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 Washington
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 Washington.
- Kanaskat-Palmer Recreation Area — park4.1 km west-north-west
- Kanaskat-Palmer State Park — park4.8 km west-north-west
- Little Eagle Lake — lake7.1 km east
- Sugarloaf Mountain — mountain7.2 km north-west
- Ghost Point — cliff7.6 km east-north-east
- Eagle Lake — lake8.5 km east
Places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
The last nights it was visible here
Nights in the last decade when the storm was strong enough for Washington 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 Washington
All 46 places in Washington with a forecast page, and the Kp each one needs.
- AnacortesKp 7
- ArlingtonKp 7
- Bainbridge IslandKp 7
- BellevueKp 7
- BellinghamKp 7
- BothellKp 7
- Bothell WestKp 7
- BremertonKp 7
- City of SammamishKp 7
- Cottage LakeKp 7
- EastmontKp 7
- EdmondsKp 7
- EverettKp 7
- Inglewood-Finn HillKp 7
- IssaquahKp 7
- KenmoreKp 7
- KirklandKp 7
- Lake StevensKp 7
- LynnwoodKp 7
- Martha LakeKp 7
- MarysvilleKp 7
- Mercer IslandKp 7
- Mill CreekKp 7
- Mill Creek EastKp 7
- MonroeKp 7
- Moses LakeKp 7
- Mount VernonKp 7
- Mountlake TerraceKp 7
- MukilteoKp 7
- North CreekKp 7
- Oak HarborKp 7
- OpportunityKp 7
- Picnic Point-North LynnwoodKp 7
- Port AngelesKp 7
- RedmondKp 7
- SammamishKp 7
- SeattleKp 7
- ShorelineKp 7
- Silver FirsKp 7
- SilverdaleKp 7
- SpokaneKp 7
- Spokane ValleyKp 7
- Union Hill-Novelty HillKp 7
- WenatcheeKp 7
- West Lake SammamishKp 7
- West Lake StevensKp 7
Know when it is worth going outside
Revon watches the Washington forecast and pushes an alert when the odds for tonight clear your threshold — no checking, no guessing.
Common questions about the aurora borealis in Washington
Can you see the aurora borealis from Washington?
Yes. On the last 10.0 years of NOAA Kp records, Washington 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 Washington?
Kp 7. Washington sits at geomagnetic latitude 52.9°, 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 Washington?
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 Washington?
The centre of Washington reads Bortle 4. The nearest sky at Bortle 4 is about 9 km south-east around King County. On a marginal night that drive matters more than the forecast does.
Where is the nearest place to Washington with reliable aurora borealis?
Juneau, United States — 1,482 km north-north-west. It needs only Kp 5 and averages 28.7 viable nights a year against 3.2 in Washington.
Nearby towns
Forecasts for places within reach of Washington.