Aurora Borealis in Westwood Plateau
Canada · 49.30°, -122.79° · geomagnetic 54.7° · needs Kp 7
Tonight in Westwood Plateau
1%
Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Westwood Plateau 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 Westwood Plateau
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 Westwood Plateau needs, which is normal rather than unlucky — it averages 3.1 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 Westwood Plateau
Revon aurora model over the NOAA Kp forecast and 27-day outlook
How often the aurora borealis reaches Westwood Plateau
3.1 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, Westwood Plateau 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11.6 | 10.3 | 8.7 | 6.3 | 3.5 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 5.3 | 7.9 | 9.8 | 11.3 | 11.9 |
Solar declination and hour angle at −18°
Nothing to see from June
Through those months the sun never falls more than 18° below the Westwood Plateau horizon, so the sky never darkens fully. Plan around the darker half of the year.
Getting clear of the light
Westwood Plateau is small enough that its own lights are a minor problem — the centre reads Bortle 6. Walking to the edge of town is often escape enough.
- 22 km north — around Electoral Area A → Bortle 4
- 22 km north — around Electoral Area A → 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 Westwood Plateau. 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 Westwood Plateau 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, 1,255 km north-north-west in United States.
| Westwood Plateau | Juneau | |
|---|---|---|
| Kp needed | 7 | 5 |
| Nights per year | 3.1 | 28.7 |
| Geomagnetic latitude | 54.7° | 61.6° |
Confirmed reports from this area
57 verified sightings were logged within 300 km of Westwood Plateau 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 Westwood Plateau
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 Westwood Plateau.
- Cypress Mountain — mountain3.1 km north-north-west
- Cypress Lake — lake4.0 km north-north-west
- Buntzen Lake — lake5.6 km west-north-west
- Eagle Mountain — mountain5.9 km north-north-west
- Racoon Island — island8.5 km west-north-west
- Coquitlam Island — island8.7 km north
Places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where to stay
Anywhere on the outskirts of Westwood Plateau will do; what matters is being able to step outside and check the sky without a drive first.
- Best Western Poco Inn And Stes 5.7 km from the centre
- Best Western Coquitlam Convention Center 8.9 km from the centre
- Executive Plaza Coquitlam 9.6 km from the centre
- Ramada Inn Coquitlam 9.6 km from the centre
- Ramada Coquitlam Vancouver 9.6 km from the centre
- Ramada Inn Coquitlam Vancouver Bc 9.6 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 Westwood Plateau 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 Westwood Plateau forecast and pushes an alert when the odds for tonight clear your threshold — no checking, no guessing.
Common questions about the aurora borealis in Westwood Plateau
Can you see the aurora borealis from Westwood Plateau?
Yes. On the last 10.0 years of NOAA Kp records, Westwood Plateau had about 3.1 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 Westwood Plateau?
Kp 7. Westwood Plateau 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 Westwood Plateau?
May, September and August. Those months scored highest once both conditions are counted together: geomagnetic activity and enough hours of real darkness. From June the sky over Westwood Plateau never gets fully dark, so nothing is visible however strong the storm.
Where can you escape the light pollution near Westwood Plateau?
The centre of Westwood Plateau reads Bortle 6. The nearest sky at Bortle 4 is about 22 km north around Electoral Area A. On a marginal night that drive matters more than the forecast does.
Where is the nearest place to Westwood Plateau with reliable aurora borealis?
Juneau, United States — 1,255 km north-north-west. It needs only Kp 5 and averages 28.7 viable nights a year against 3.1 in Westwood Plateau.
Nearby towns
Forecasts for places within reach of Westwood Plateau.