Northern Lights tonight in Sherwood Park, AB

Tonight in Sherwood Park

Sherwood Park sits at a geomagnetic latitude of 60.0° N, so the aurora usually needs a Kp index of about 2 or higher before it rises above the northern horizon. Tonight's NOAA forecast peaks at Kp 3 (quiet) during the dark hours, which is enough for Sherwood Park.

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 3% chance of aurora in the part of the sky visible from Sherwood Park. OVATION is a short-range nowcast (30 to 90 minutes ahead), useful for deciding whether to step outside now.

3-day Kp forecast

3 of the next 3 days reach the Kp 2 that Sherwood Park 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 Sherwood Park needs Kp 2

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 North American cities see aurora further south than European cities at the same latitude. At Kp 0 the oval's edge is near 66° geomagnetic; each step of Kp pushes it roughly 2° toward the equator.

At 60.0° geomagnetic, Sherwood Park needs about Kp 2 for aurora low on the horizon, Kp 4 or more for a display high in the sky.

Aurora forecast for nearby cities

• Northern lights Edmonton
• Northern lights St. Albert
• Northern lights Spruce Grove
• Northern lights Red Deer
• Northern lights Lloydminster
• Northern lights Airdrie
• Northern lights Cochrane
• Northern lights Chestermere

More sky and weather

• Aurora forecast (all cities)
• Northern Taurids meteor shower
• Meteor showers
• Wildfires near Sherwood Park
• Weather warnings