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Northern lights in Canada
The magnetic pole sits off the Canadian Arctic, so Canada is closer to the aurora than its map latitude suggests. The north sees it overhead on quiet nights, and the southern cities get it in storms.
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Tonight, town by town
Each town's corrected geomagnetic latitude and the Kp that brings the aurora onto its northern horizon or overhead, on NOAA's rule, with tonight's verdict from NOAA's forecast for its hours of darkness. Clouds are not included.
| Town | Geomag. latitude | On the horizon from | Overhead from | How often (NOAA) | Tonight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cambridge Bay | 75.9° | any Kp | any Kp | below storm level | Loading… |
| Dawson City | 65.8° | any Kp | Kp 0.1 | below storm level | Loading… |
| Iqaluit | 70.6° | any Kp | any Kp | below storm level | Loading… |
| Yellowknife | 68.6° | any Kp | any Kp | below storm level | Loading… |
| Whitehorse | 63.3° | any Kp | Kp 1.4 | below storm level | Loading… |
| Churchill | 67.2° | any Kp | any Kp | below storm level | Loading… |
| Edmonton | 60.2° | Kp 0.7 | Kp 2.9 | below storm level | Loading… |
| Calgary | 57.7° | Kp 1.9 | Kp 4.2 | below storm level | Loading… |
| Winnipeg | 58.7° | Kp 1.4 | Kp 3.7 | below storm level | Loading… |
| Vancouver | 54.4° | Kp 3.6 | Kp 5.8 (G1) | below storm level | Loading… |
| Montréal | 53.5° | Kp 4.0 | Kp 6.2 (G2) | below storm level | Loading… |
| Toronto | 52.5° | Kp 4.5 | Kp 6.7 (G2) | below storm level | Loading… |
What the local experts say
Canada's three zones
Natural Resources Canada: "Canadian territory covers three zones of geomagnetic activity: the polar cap (north of Cambridge Bay), the auroral zone (between Cambridge Bay and Meanook) and the subauroral zone (south of Meanook)." Its Canadian Space Weather Forecast Centre forecasts each zone.
Natural Resources CanadaOverhead in the north
The University of Alaska Fairbanks lists Dawson City, Yellowknife and Churchill among the places where the aurora is overhead at average activity.
University of Alaska Fairbanks, Geophysical InstituteThe southern cities
NOAA's scale: at G2 (Kp 6) "aurora has been seen as low as New York and Idaho", at G3 (Kp 7) "as low as Illinois and Oregon". Canada's southern cities all lie north of New York, and Vancouver north of Idaho.
NOAA SWPCThe hours
The UAF Geophysical Institute: "the best time to watch for the aurora is the three or four hours centered around midnight", from "a hill away from city lights with a clear view of the horizon".
University of Alaska Fairbanks, Geophysical InstituteHow dark it gets, month by month
Hours with the Sun more than 12° below the horizon on the 15th of each month, which is dark enough for the aurora to show, and the middle of the night on the local clock in midwinter. "None" means the aurora cannot be seen even when it is there.
| Town | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Darkest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cambridge Bay | 15 h | 12 h | 8 h | none | none | none | none | none | 6 h | 11 h | 14 h | 16 h | 23:59 |
| Dawson City | 14 h | 12 h | 9 h | 4 h | none | none | none | 1 h | 7 h | 11 h | 14 h | 15 h | 02:16 |
| Iqaluit | 14 h | 12 h | 9 h | 5 h | none | none | none | 2 h | 7 h | 11 h | 13 h | 15 h | 23:33 |
| Yellowknife | 14 h | 12 h | 9 h | 5 h | none | none | none | 3 h | 8 h | 11 h | 13 h | 15 h | 00:36 |
| Whitehorse | 14 h | 12 h | 9 h | 6 h | none | none | none | 4 h | 8 h | 11 h | 13 h | 14 h | 01:59 |
| Churchill | 14 h | 12 h | 9 h | 6 h | 1 h | none | none | 5 h | 8 h | 11 h | 13 h | 14 h | 00:15 |
| Edmonton | 13 h | 12 h | 10 h | 7 h | 4 h | 2 h | 3 h | 6 h | 9 h | 11 h | 13 h | 14 h | 00:32 |
| Calgary | 13 h | 12 h | 10 h | 8 h | 5 h | 4 h | 4 h | 7 h | 9 h | 11 h | 13 h | 13 h | 00:35 |
| Winnipeg | 13 h | 11 h | 10 h | 8 h | 6 h | 4 h | 5 h | 7 h | 9 h | 11 h | 12 h | 13 h | 00:27 |
| Vancouver | 13 h | 11 h | 10 h | 8 h | 6 h | 4 h | 5 h | 7 h | 9 h | 11 h | 12 h | 13 h | 00:11 |
| Montréal | 13 h | 11 h | 10 h | 8 h | 6 h | 6 h | 6 h | 8 h | 9 h | 11 h | 12 h | 13 h | 23:53 |
| Toronto | 13 h | 11 h | 10 h | 8 h | 7 h | 6 h | 6 h | 8 h | 9 h | 11 h | 12 h | 13 h | 00:16 |
Check your own town
Anywhere in the world: your geomagnetic latitude, what it takes there, tonight's dark hours and NOAA's forecast for them.
Aurora alerts by email
Free, and only on nights the forecast brings the aurora within reach of your sky. Checked once a day.
Kp, the last day and the next three
NOAA's planetary Kp in three-hour blocks. From Kp 5 it is a geomagnetic storm.
Questions
What Kp do I need to see the northern lights in Canada?
It depends on the town. Cambridge Bay needs no storm: on NOAA's rule the aurora can reach its horizon at any Kp. Toronto needs about Kp 4.5 for the aurora low on the northern horizon and Kp 6.7 (G2) for overhead. The table on this page has every town. These come from NOAA's rule of thumb (the oval's edge at about 66° geomagnetic latitude at Kp 0, 2° nearer the equator per Kp step) with 500 km of horizon, which NOAA calls approximate. (NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center)
When is it dark enough?
Not all year. Cambridge Bay has no proper darkness in Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug; Dawson City has no proper darkness in May, Jun, Jul; Iqaluit has no proper darkness in May, Jun, Jul: the Sun never gets 12° below the horizon. The months table on this page shows the hours of darkness each month. (NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center)
What time of night is best?
NOAA: "Best aurora is usually within an hour or two of midnight (between 10 PM and 2 AM local time)." In midwinter the darkest hours here are centred near 23:59 on Cambridge Bay's clocks. (NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center)
Which way should I look?
North. NOAA: "Find a place where you can see to the north (or south if you are in the southern hemisphere)." Further from the oval it shows only low over that horizon, and a camera records more than the eye. (NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center, Met Office)
How often does it happen?
NOAA counts about 900 days per 11-year solar cycle at G1 (Kp 5), 360 at G2 (Kp 6) and 130 at G3 (Kp 7). Towns that need no storm can see it on many clear, dark nights; NOAA notes "very nice auroral displays even with low geomagnetic activity (Kp = 3 or 4)" from the right place. (NOAA SWPC, NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center)
Sources
The Kp each town needs is NOAA's rule of thumb applied to its corrected geomagnetic latitude (AACGM-v2 at 110 km, 2026), with 500 km of horizon. The dark hours are worked out from the Sun's position. Quotes are from the pages below, read in October 2026.
- NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center: Tips on viewing the aurora
- NOAA SWPC: Space weather scales (G1 to G5)
- NOAA SWPC: Planetary Kp, observed and 3-day forecast (data feed)
- NOAA SWPC: Aurora, 30-minute forecast (the OVATION model)
- Shepherd, S. G. (2014): Altitude-adjusted corrected geomagnetic coordinates (AACGM-v2), J. Geophys. Res. Space Physics 119, 7501
- Natural Resources Canada: Space weather, geomagnetic activity zones
- University of Alaska Fairbanks, Geophysical Institute: Aurora forecast
- Met Office: Auroras
More places: UK and Scotland · Norway and Scandinavia · Iceland · Alaska and the northern US · Southern lights: New Zealand and Tasmania. Photography tips and the full forecast are on northern lights tonight.