Northern Lights Forecast for Portland

Only in the strongest storms, and faintly. People have watched from Council Crest and Mount Tabor inside the city and from the Women's Forum lookout in the Columbia Gorge, and photos have come in from Hillsboro, Lake Oswego and Estacada. To the naked eye it is faint, a few pale green streaks; the bright magentas in the photos are long exposures.

It is the nearest flat, dark ground, about 10 miles northwest of downtown off US 30. The island is farmland and wildlife area with long open horizons and very few lights of its own. The wildlife area, including the beaches on the Columbia side, closes to visitors late in the evening and reopens before dawn.

The Gorge viewpoints are the usual Portland aurora spots because they look north across the river to the Washington shore. Vista House at Crown Point is about 25 miles east of the city and 733 feet above the river; the Women's Forum lookout just before it is where crowds gather in the strongest storms. Rowena Crest, about 70 miles east near The Dalles, is often clearer because it sits in the drier air east of the Cascade crest.

No. Larch Mountain Road is gated at milepost 10 for the winter, usually from about November until late May, so the 4,061-foot summit and its Sherrard Point viewpoint are out for most of the aurora season. When the road is open, the viewpoint has Mount St. Helens, Mount Rainier and Mount Adams lined up across the northern sky.

The nights in Portland are dark all year. But the aurora rarely reaches this far south: only in strong storms, which can come in any month. The longest nights, around 21 December, have about 13 hours of darkness.

Yes. The nights in Portland are dark all year, so the aurora can show in summer too when it reaches this far south.

In Portland, you usually need at least Kp 8 to have a reasonable chance of seeing the northern lights. Lower Kp can still bring a faint aurora display low on the northern horizon, but it is less common.

This is based on magnetic latitude, and Kp index is a global geomagnetic index, so treat it as a rule of thumb, not a location-specific guarantee.

Tonight, the NOAA Kp index forecast is around 1.6. That is below the usual Kp index threshold for Portland, so seeing the aurora is unlikely.