Aurora Borealis in Westminster-Branson

Canada · 43.78°, -79.45° · geomagnetic 53.1° · needs Kp 7

Tonight in Westminster-Branson

1%

Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Westminster-Branson 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.

Tonight Sun 02 Aug
1%
18
20
22
00
02
04
06
Tomorrow Mon 3 Aug
1%
Hour-by-hour for this night is in the app
Tuesday Tue 4 Aug
1%
Hour-by-hour for this night is in the app

Unlock every hour in the app

Updated 2026-08-02 20:20 UTC

The next 30 nights in Westminster-Branson

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 Westminster-Branson 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.

Quiet geomagnetic conditions ahead. No significant aurora activity expected this month.

Sun 2
1%
Kp 5.1
Mon 3
1%
Kp 3.3
Tue 4
1%
Kp 1.3
Wed 5
1%
Kp 3.0
Thu 6
1%
Kp 3.0
Fri 7
1%
Kp 2.0
Sat 8
1%
Kp 2.0

Nights 8–30 unlock in the Revon app

See all 30 nights for Westminster-Branson

Revon aurora model over the NOAA Kp forecast and 27-day outlook

How often the aurora borealis reaches Westminster-Branson

3.2 nights a year, averaged across 10.0 years of records

Storm levelNights / year
Kp 483.4
Kp 528.7
Kp 69.3
Kp 73.2
Kp 81.2

NOAA planetary Kp, 2016-04-02 to 2026-03-30

Wait for an alert; do not book a week

At Kp 7, Westminster-Branson 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

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
11.310.39.07.15.23.84.46.48.39.911.111.6

Solar declination and hour angle at −18°

Getting clear of the light

Westminster-Branson is small enough that its own lights are a minor problem — the centre reads Bortle 9. Walking to the edge of town is often escape enough.

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 Westminster-Branson. 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 Westminster-Branson viewing season.

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, 2,857 km north-north-east in Greenland.

Westminster-BransonNuuk
Kp needed73
Nights per year3.2 171.4
Geomagnetic latitude53.1° 72.6°

See the Nuuk forecast

Confirmed reports from this area

64 verified sightings were logged within 300 km of Westminster-Branson 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 Westminster-Branson

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 Westminster-Branson.

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. Westminster-Branson keeps its fortified past above ground, at Casa Loma and CN Tower, and for a day when the cloud sits low, Ontario Science Centre, Bata Shoe Museum and The Royal Ontario 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

Anywhere on the outskirts of Westminster-Branson will do; what matters is being able to step outside and check the sky without a drive first.

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 Westminster-Branson and the sky was dark enough to show it.

DatePeak
2026-03-20Kp 7.0
2026-01-20Kp 7.67
2026-01-19Kp 8.67
2025-11-12Kp 7.33
2025-11-11Kp 8.67

NOAA planetary Kp

Know when it is worth going outside

Revon watches the Westminster-Branson forecast and pushes an alert when the odds for tonight clear your threshold — no checking, no guessing.

Get aurora alerts on iPhone

Common questions about the aurora borealis in Westminster-Branson

Can you see the aurora borealis from Westminster-Branson?

Yes. On the last 10.0 years of NOAA Kp records, Westminster-Branson 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 Westminster-Branson?

Kp 7. Westminster-Branson sits at geomagnetic latitude 53.1°, 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 Westminster-Branson?

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 Westminster-Branson?

The centre of Westminster-Branson reads Bortle 9. The nearest sky at Bortle 4 is about 77 km east. On a marginal night that drive matters more than the forecast does.

Where is the nearest place to Westminster-Branson with reliable aurora borealis?

Nuuk, Greenland — 2,857 km north-north-east. It needs only Kp 3 and averages 171.4 viable nights a year against 3.2 in Westminster-Branson.

Nearby towns

Forecasts for places within reach of Westminster-Branson.