Northern Lights tonight in Montpellier

Tonight in Montpellier

Montpellier sits at a geomagnetic latitude of 45.0° N, so the aurora is only seen here in extreme Kp 9 storms, and then mostly by cameras. Tonight's NOAA forecast peaks at Kp 3 (quiet) during the dark hours, far below that.

The Moon is 100% illuminated (full moon), bright enough to wash out a faint aurora, so only a stronger display will stand out. For the best view look north, low on the horizon, from somewhere away from street lights.

Right now NOAA's OVATION model gives up to 1% chance of aurora in the part of the sky visible from Montpellier. OVATION is a short-range nowcast (30 to 90 minutes ahead), useful for deciding whether to step outside now.

3-day Kp forecast

None of the next 3 days reaches the Kp 9 that Montpellier needs. Kp is a global 0–9 index of geomagnetic activity, issued in 3-hour blocks (UTC); NOAA forecasts beyond 24 hours are uncertain, because storms are triggered by solar eruptions that take 1–3 days to arrive.

Why Montpellier needs Kp 9

The aurora forms in an oval around the geomagnetic pole, which sits in the Canadian Arctic (about 80.8° N, 72.8° W), not at the geographic pole. That is why the Kp a city needs depends on its geomagnetic rather than its geographic latitude. At Kp 0 the oval's edge is near 66° geomagnetic; each step of Kp pushes it roughly 2° toward the equator.

Montpellier is at 45.0° geomagnetic, far enough from the pole that only extreme (Kp 9, G5) storms like May 2024 bring the aurora into view, and then mostly to cameras.

Aurora forecast for nearby cities

• Northern lights Nîmes
• Northern lights Orange, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
• Northern lights Toulouse
• Northern lights Saint-Étienne
• Northern lights Grenoble
• Northern lights Clermont-Ferrand
• Northern lights Lyon
• Northern lights Villeurbanne

More sky and weather

• Aurora forecast (all cities)
• Northern Taurids meteor shower
• Meteor showers
• Weather warnings