Spokane, WA · magnetic latitude 53.8°
Northern lights in Spokane: tonight’s chance
Spokane needs nearly the same storm as Seattle but gets far more clear nights to use it.
Tonight at Spokane, WA
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Reading the SWPC Kp forecast and the cloud forecast…
| Kp forecast during the dark hours | not yet forecast |
|---|---|
| Kp needed here | 6.1 (G2 moderate) |
| Cloud cover in the dark hours | loading |
| Dark sky (Sun 18° down) | 7:47 PM to 5:24 AM PDT |
| Moon | 13% lit |
| Right now, OVATION (30 to 90 min) | loading or unavailable |
| Magnetic latitude (AACGM) | 53.8° |
Hour by hour, PDT
7 PM
Kp –
– ☁
No
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 Spokane
- 6.1
- Storm level needed
- G2 (Moderate)
- Kp for aurora overhead
- 6.1
- Most clear dark hours
- September
Spokane needs a planetary Kp of about 6.1 to see the northern lights, a G2 (Moderate) storm, because the city sits at 53.8 degrees magnetic latitude in the AACGM model, a little higher than Seattle's 52.9. That small magnetic edge matters less than the weather. Spokane lies in the rain shadow of the Cascades, and in NASA POWER's monthly averages its sky is at 30% cloud amount in July, one of the clearest summer skies in the northern tier of the country, while December reaches 80% under the winter inversions. Taking dark hours into account, the months with the most clear dark sky are September, October and August. When a G2 or G3 storm is forecast for an autumn evening, Spokane is often the best-placed city of the Northwest.
The rain shadow advantage
Seattle and Spokane lie at almost the same latitude, 47.67 and 47.62 degrees north, and their Kp thresholds differ by only 0.3. What separates them is the Cascade crest. Pacific air drops most of its moisture on the western slopes, and by the time it reaches the Spokane valley it is far drier. The difference shows most in the season that matters: in September, with 7.9 hours of full darkness on the 15th, Spokane's average cloud amount is 46%, against 54% in Seattle.
Winter is a different story. Cold air pools in the valley between storms and holds a lid of low cloud and freezing fog that can outlast a geomagnetic storm. On those nights the forecast for the city and the sky from Mount Spokane or the higher farmland north of town can differ completely.
What Kp does this town need?
Kp to see aurora from here
6.1
| Magnetic latitude (AACGM) | 53.8° |
| Kp for aurora overhead | 6.1 |
| Storm level | G2 Moderate |
| How often that level comes | about 360 days per 11-year cycle |
View line: the more southern of the SWPC oval rule and the NOAA G scale latitudes at each Kp.
Smoke season
Late summer brings the clearest skies of the Inland Northwest, and in some years the smoke of distant wildfires. Smoke dims faint aurora much as thin cloud does, yet the cloud forecast of the tool does not count it. The quick test is the stars: if the Milky Way is invisible on a moonless night outside town, a faint display at the threshold will be too.
Reading a storm forecast from Spokane
At Kp 6.1, the aurora appears low in the north, more easily caught on a phone than by eye. Each extra Kp lifts it: around Kp 7 rays become visible over the northern half of the sky, and near Kp 6.1 the oval can reach the zenith. Because the city is in the Pacific time zone at the western edge of the country, the peak of a storm forecast for the early hours UT often falls in its evening, which suits a weeknight outing. The three-night forecast converts every SWPC block to local time.
Spokane is also the gateway to darker country: north Idaho and the Pend Oreille valley sit at slightly higher magnetic latitudes. The Idaho page compares Sandpoint and Coeur d'Alene, and the Washington page the rest of the state.
Kp needed around Spokane
| Town | Magnetic latitude | Kp to see it | Kp overhead | Storm level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bellingham | 54.0° | 6.0 | 6.0 | G2 (Moderate) |
| Spokane | 53.8° | 6.1 | 6.1 | G2 (Moderate) |
| Wenatchee | 53.1° | 6.4 | 6.5 | G2 (Moderate) |
| Seattle | 52.9° | 6.4 | 6.6 | G2 (Moderate) |
| Yakima | 52.2° | 6.6 | 6.9 | G2 (Moderate) |
| Vancouver | 50.9° | 6.8 | 7.6 | G3 (Strong) |
Darkness and clouds by month in Spokane
| Month | Dark hours | Dark sky, 15th | Mean cloud | Clear dark hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 11.5 h | 6:15 PM to 5:42 AM | 79% | 2.4 h |
| February | 10.2 h | 6:56 PM to 5:10 AM | 72% | 2.9 h |
| March | 8.6 h | 8:38 PM to 5:17 AM | 75% | 2.2 h |
| April | 6.5 h | 9:34 PM to 4:03 AM | 69% | 2.0 h |
| May | 4.0 h | 10:45 PM to 2:46 AM | 62% | 1.5 h |
| June | 1.8 h | 11:57 PM to 1:43 AM | 57% | 0.8 h |
| July | 3.0 h | 11:25 PM to 2:26 AM | 30% | 2.1 h |
| August | 5.6 h | 10:05 PM to 3:42 AM | 35% | 3.6 h |
| September | 7.9 h | 8:48 PM to 4:42 AM | 46% | 4.3 h |
| October | 9.7 h | 7:44 PM to 5:27 AM | 61% | 3.8 h |
| November | 11.1 h | 6:00 PM to 5:08 AM | 76% | 2.6 h |
| December | 11.8 h | 5:51 PM to 5:39 AM | 80% | 2.4 h |