North Dakota · 6 towns compared
Northern lights in North Dakota: tonight’s chance
North Dakota has the lowest Kp thresholds of the lower 48 in this comparison, and almost nothing between you and the northern horizon.
Tonight at Bismarck, ND
…
Reading the SWPC Kp forecast and the cloud forecast…
| Kp forecast during the dark hours | not yet forecast |
|---|---|
| Kp needed here | 5.3 (G1 minor) |
| Cloud cover in the dark hours | loading |
| Dark sky (Sun 18° down) | 8:40 PM to 6:18 AM CDT |
| Moon | 13% lit |
| Right now, OVATION (30 to 90 min) | loading or unavailable |
| Magnetic latitude (AACGM) | 55.4° |
Hour by hour, CDT
8 PM
Kp –
– ☁
No
9 PM
Kp –
– ☁
No
10 PM
Kp –
– ☁
No
11 PM
Kp –
– ☁
No
12 AM
Kp –
– ☁
No
1 AM
Kp –
– ☁
No
2 AM
Kp –
– ☁
No
3 AM
Kp –
– ☁
No
4 AM
Kp –
– ☁
No
5 AM
Kp –
– ☁
No
6 AM
Kp –
– ☁
No
Rules checked · Built by Radif Partners · How the answer works
- Kp to see it from Bismarck
- 5.3
- Storm level needed
- G1 (Minor)
- Kp for aurora overhead
- 5.3
- Most clear dark hours
- September
North Dakota is the best placed state of the lower 48 in this site's comparison. The whole state sits between about 55.3 and 56.8 degrees magnetic latitude in the AACGM model, because the magnetic pole lies due north, over the Canadian Arctic. Grand Forks needs a planetary Kp of about 4.6 and Minot about 4.6, right at the G1 level of NOAA's storm scale; Bismarck needs about 5.3. The landscape helps as much as the latitude: flat or rolling prairie, small towns and long, dark horizons in every direction. Clouds are moderate, with Bismarck's NASA POWER cloud amount between 44% in July and 69% in December, and the months with the most clear dark hours there are September, November and January. The tool opens on Bismarck; type your own town or a ZIP code.
Closer to the magnetic pole than it looks
On a globe, North Dakota is a mid-latitude state, between about 46 and 49 degrees north. On a magnetic map it is the northernmost of the lower 48 after the border strip of Minnesota, because the magnetic pole sits almost due north of it, in the Canadian Arctic. That is why Bismarck, at 46.8 degrees north, needs less Kp than Seattle or Missoula, which lie farther north on the map. Every town in the state is within about 0.7 Kp of Grand Forks.
What Kp does this town need?
Kp to see aurora from here
4.6
| Magnetic latitude (AACGM) | 56.7° |
| Kp for aurora overhead | 4.6 |
| Storm level | no storm needed |
| How often that level comes | most active nights |
View line: the more southern of the SWPC oval rule and the NOAA G scale latitudes at each Kp.
Prairie horizons and small lights
The aurora at a town's threshold sits low on the northern horizon, and North Dakota's prairie leaves that horizon open. The Red River Valley in the east is as flat as land gets; the Missouri Coteau and the Badlands in the west have more relief but few lights. The main sources of glow outside the cities are the oil field flares and lights of the Williston Basin in the northwest, which can brighten the sky around Williston, at Kp 4.8, and a long way beyond. Driving away from them, or using a hill to put them below the horizon, helps more than a slightly higher latitude.
Eastern valley, western badlands
The state divides into two landscapes. The Red River Valley in the east, around Fargo and Grand Forks, is farmland on a dead-flat lake bed, with towns every few miles and very little relief. West of the Missouri the land rises toward the Badlands of the Little Missouri, with buttes, draws and fewer people. For aurora purposes, the east has the lower thresholds and the flattest horizons; the west has darker skies and drier air. Both work on a G1 night. Grand Forks, the northernmost of the larger cities, needs about Kp 4.6, and the drive from there to the Canadian border takes little more than an hour.
Cold, wind and the clearest weeks
Winter nights here are long, 11.8 hours of full darkness in mid-December in Bismarck, and often clear under Arctic high pressure, with dangerous wind chill. Autumn is the gentler season: September leads Bismarck's clear dark hours, before the snow. Summer nights shrink to about 2.4 hours of real darkness in June. The Fargo page and the Bismarck page give the month-by-month figures for each city.
Kp needed across North Dakota
| Town | Magnetic latitude | Kp to see it | Kp overhead | Storm level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Forks | 56.8° | 4.6 | 4.6 | no storm |
| Minot | 56.7° | 4.6 | 4.6 | no storm |
| Williston | 56.4° | 4.8 | 4.8 | G1 (Minor) |
| Fargo | 55.8° | 5.1 | 5.1 | G1 (Minor) |
| Bismarck | 55.4° | 5.3 | 5.3 | G1 (Minor) |
| Dickinson | 55.3° | 5.4 | 5.4 | G1 (Minor) |
Darkness and clouds by month in Bismarck
| Month | Dark hours | Dark sky, 15th | Mean cloud | Clear dark hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 11.4 h | 7:09 PM to 6:35 AM | 65% | 4.0 h |
| February | 10.2 h | 7:49 PM to 6:04 AM | 64% | 3.7 h |
| March | 8.7 h | 9:30 PM to 6:12 AM | 67% | 2.9 h |
| April | 6.6 h | 10:24 PM to 5:01 AM | 61% | 2.6 h |
| May | 4.3 h | 11:30 PM to 3:48 AM | 60% | 1.7 h |
| June | 2.4 h | 12:32 AM to 2:55 AM | 53% | 1.1 h |
| July | 3.4 h | 12:07 AM to 3:31 AM | 44% | 1.9 h |
| August | 5.8 h | 10:54 PM to 4:41 AM | 44% | 3.2 h |
| September | 8.0 h | 9:39 PM to 5:37 AM | 48% | 4.2 h |
| October | 9.7 h | 8:36 PM to 6:21 AM | 59% | 4.0 h |
| November | 11.1 h | 6:54 PM to 6:01 AM | 63% | 4.1 h |
| December | 11.8 h | 6:45 PM to 6:31 AM | 69% | 3.7 h |