Can you see the northern lights in Canada tonight?

Northern lights in Northwest Territories

Northwest Territories needs about Kp 0 — tonight's odds are good. Yellowknife and the Ingraham Trail lakes (Prelude, Prosperous, Madeline) — directly under the auroral oval.

• Yellowknife · needs Kp 0 · 🟢 Good odds

Northern lights in Nunavut

Nunavut needs about Kp 0 — tonight's odds are good. Iqaluit — Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park, just outside town.

• Iqaluit · needs Kp 0 · 🟢 Good odds

Northern lights in Yukon

Yukon needs about Kp 1.5 — tonight's odds are good. The outskirts of Whitehorse (Fish Lake Road, Takhini Hot Springs, Lake Laberge).

• Dawson City · needs Kp 0.2 · 🟢 Good odds
• Whitehorse · needs Kp 1.5 · 🟢 Good odds

Northern lights in Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan needs about Kp 3.6 — tonight's odds are possible but marginal. Grasslands National Park Dark Sky Preserve — among the darkest skies in Canada.

• Saskatoon · needs Kp 3.2 · 🟡 Marginal
• Regina · needs Kp 3.9 · 🟠 Low

Northern lights in Alberta

Alberta needs about Kp 3.7 — tonight's odds are low. Jasper Dark Sky Preserve — one of the largest dark-sky preserves in the world.

• Edmonton · needs Kp 3 · 🟡 Marginal
• Jasper · needs Kp 3.8 · 🟠 Low
• Banff · needs Kp 4.2 · 🟠 Low
• Calgary · needs Kp 4.2 · 🟠 Low

Northern lights in Manitoba

Manitoba needs about Kp 3.8 — tonight's odds are low. Churchill, on Hudson Bay — directly under the auroral oval, one of the best aurora towns on the planet.

• Churchill · needs Kp 0 · 🟢 Good odds
• Winnipeg · needs Kp 3.8 · 🟠 Low

Northern lights in British Columbia

British Columbia needs about Kp 5.3 — tonight's odds are low. Northern BC (Prince George, Fort St. John, Fort Nelson) — several Kp lower than the Lower Mainland.

• Vancouver · needs Kp 5.3 · 🟠 Low
• Victoria · needs Kp 5.6 · 🟠 Low

Northern lights in Quebec

Quebec needs about Kp 5.5 — tonight's odds are low. Mont-Mégantic International Dark Sky Reserve — the first of its kind, 3 h from Montreal.

• Quebec City · needs Kp 5.3 · 🟠 Low
• Montreal · needs Kp 5.6 · 🟠 Low

Northern lights in Ontario

Ontario needs about Kp 5.8 — tonight's odds are low. Northern Ontario (Thunder Bay, the Lake Superior shore, Sudbury) — a far lower Kp than the south.

• Thunder Bay · needs Kp 4.2 · 🟠 Low
• Ottawa · needs Kp 5.5 · 🟠 Low
• Toronto · needs Kp 5.9 · 🟠 Low
• Hamilton · needs Kp 6 · 🟠 Low

Northern lights in New Brunswick

New Brunswick needs about Kp 5.9 — tonight's odds are low. Kouchibouguac National Park Dark Sky Preserve — beaches facing the Northumberland Strait.

• Moncton · needs Kp 5.9 · 🟠 Low

Northern lights in Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island needs about Kp 6 — tonight's odds are low. The north shore (Cavendish, PEI National Park) — beaches facing due north over the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

• Charlottetown · needs Kp 6 · 🟠 Low

Northern lights in Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador needs about Kp 6.4 — tonight's odds are low. Labrador (Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador City) — far closer to the auroral oval than the island.

• St. John's · needs Kp 6.4 · 🟠 Low

Northern lights in Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia needs about Kp 6.5 — tonight's odds are low. Kejimkujik National Park Dark Sky Preserve — the darkest sky in the Maritimes.

• Halifax · needs Kp 6.5 · 🟠 Low

Can you see the northern lights in Canada tonight?

Tonight's Kp is 2.3 (live NOAA SWPC). Tonight the aurora is within reach of Saskatchewan (needs Kp 3.6), Yukon (needs Kp 1.5), Northwest Territories (needs Kp 0), Nunavut (needs Kp 0). Clear skies and darkness decide the rest — the aurora is always a chance, never a promise.

What Kp do you need to see the northern lights in Canada?

It depends on how far north you are: Northwest Territories about Kp 0, Nunavut about Kp 0, Yukon about Kp 1.5, Saskatchewan about Kp 3.6, Alberta about Kp 3.7, Manitoba about Kp 3.8, British Columbia about Kp 5.3, Quebec about Kp 5.5, Ontario about Kp 5.8, New Brunswick about Kp 5.9, Prince Edward Island about Kp 6, Newfoundland and Labrador about Kp 6.4, Nova Scotia about Kp 6.5. The easiest place in our catalogue is Churchill (Kp 0). These come from AACGM-v2 geomagnetic latitude — the higher it is, the lower the Kp you need.

Where is the best place to see the northern lights in Canada?

Anywhere under the auroral oval: Yellowknife (Northwest Territories), Whitehorse and Dawson City (Yukon), Churchill (Manitoba) and Nunavut see it on most clear, dark nights. In the south, the prairies and the dark-sky preserves (Jasper, Wood Buffalo, Grasslands, Torrance Barrens, Mont-Mégantic) catch it during storms.

When is the best time to see the aurora in Canada?

Between about 10 pm and 2 am local time on a clear, moonless night, from September to April. Geomagnetic storms are most frequent around the equinoxes (September–October and March–April). In the far north, from late May to early August the sky never gets dark enough.