SKY · AURORA · WASHINGTON, USA
Aurora Forecast — Seattle
Seattle is a storm-only location — it only sees the aurora during strong-to-severe geomagnetic storms, when the oval pushes unusually far toward the equator.
Right now the aurora is unlikely from Seattle: the Kp is 1.0, below the roughly Kp 7 this location needs. Worth checking back if a storm is forecast.
Source: NOAA SWPC (planetary Kp index) · viewing threshold from Seattle's geomagnetic latitude (IGRF). Figures update through the night.
Seeing the northern lights from Seattle
Whether the aurora is visible from Seattlecomes down to two things: how disturbed Earth's magnetic field is (the Kp index, 0–9) and how far north Seattle sits in geomagneticterms — about 53° here. The more active the field, the further from the poles the glowing oval reaches. For Seattle, the rule of thumb is a Kp of 7 or higher.
On a promising night, get away from street lighting, give your eyes 20 minutes to adapt, and look toward the northern horizon. A faint grey-green arch to the naked eye often shows up far more vividly through a phone or camera on a long exposure.
What to check before you go
Clear skies matter as much as the Kp — thick cloud hides everything. Pair this forecast with the live weather layer for Seattle, and remember the Moon: a bright Moon washes out faint aurora.
Seattle right now
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