Tonight
Oct 28 - Oct 29
- 47 °F
58 percent cloud cover - 46 °F
91 percent cloud cover - 46 °F77 percent cloud cover
Northern Lights Forecast for Seattle
Seattle, Washington, United States
47°36′22.3″N ⋅ 122°19′55.6″W
Aurora data last updated at
Current local time:
Can you see the Northern Lights in Seattle tonight?
No significant aurora activity is expected in Seattle over the next 24 hours. Sky will be dark from 7:05 PM to 6:40 AM local time. Cloud cover around that time looks partly cloudy at around 30%.
Aurora Forecast for Seattle, WA
Today at 10:00 AM
No activity
Cloud Cover:31%
Aurora activity
High clouds
Middle clouds
Low clouds
Fog
Aurora activity
High clouds
Middle clouds
Low clouds
Fog
Hourly aurora forecast for Seattle
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3-Night Weather Forecast for Seattle, WA
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Tomorrow night
Oct 29 - Oct 30
- 44 °F57 percent cloud cover
- 43 °F
99 percent cloud cover - 44 °F59 percent cloud cover
Friday night
Oct 30 - Oct 31
- 47 °F
13 percent cloud cover - 45 °F60 percent cloud cover
- 41 °F
26 percent cloud cover
Sun & Moon
Sunset
Sunrise
Dark from 07:05 PM to 06:40 AM (11 h 35 min)
Current Moon
Waning Gibbous
91% illumination
Refresh to load today's sun path.
Long-Term Aurora Forecast for Seattle, WA
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wednesday, October 28, 2026. Today. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Waning gibbous, 92% illumination | Thursday, October 29, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Waning gibbous, 85% illumination | Friday, October 30, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Waning gibbous, 76% illumination | Saturday, October 31, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Last quarter, 65% illumination | Sunday, November 1, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Last quarter, 54% illumination | ||
Monday, November 2, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Last quarter, 43% illumination | Tuesday, November 3, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Last quarter, 32% illumination | Wednesday, November 4, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Waning crescent, 23% illumination | Thursday, November 5, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Waning crescent, 14% illumination | Friday, November 6, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Waning crescent, 8% illumination | Saturday, November 7, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. New moon, 3% illumination | Sunday, November 8, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. New moon, 1% illumination |
Monday, November 9, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. New moon, 0% illumination | Tuesday, November 10, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. New moon, 2% illumination | Wednesday, November 11, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Waxing crescent, 5% illumination | Thursday, November 12, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Waxing crescent, 10% illumination | Friday, November 13, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Waxing crescent, 16% illumination | Saturday, November 14, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Waxing crescent, 23% illumination | Sunday, November 15, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. First quarter, 32% illumination |
Monday, November 16, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. First quarter, 41% illumination | Tuesday, November 17, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. First quarter, 50% illumination | Wednesday, November 18, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. First quarter, 60% illumination | Thursday, November 19, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Waxing gibbous, 70% illumination | Friday, November 20, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Waxing gibbous, 79% illumination | Saturday, November 21, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Waxing gibbous, 87% illumination | Sunday, November 22, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Waxing gibbous, 94% illumination |
Monday, November 23, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Full moon, 98% illumination | Tuesday, November 24, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Full moon, 100% illumination |
LowAurora ActivityHigh
Best Time to See the Northern Lights in Seattle
The nights in Seattle are dark all year. The aurora is rare in Seattle: your best chances are in November, and again in March.
- Dark hours
- Chance of aurora
Long-term averages for clear nights, since 1985. Geomagnetic data: GFZ, CC BY 4.0
Every night of 2026 in Seattle, January at the top: how long it's dark, and the chance of aurora on a clear night.
Northern Lights in Seattle
Seattle sits at 47.6°N on Puget Sound and averages about 200 cloudy days a year. The aurora reaches the city a few times in an active year, and cloud decides as many nights as the storm does.
Kerry Park and Golden Gardens inside the city
A faint glow or red tint low in the north can show from a dark spot during a G2 moderate storm. Anything that stands up above the horizon takes a G3 strong storm or more. In the strongest storms the aurora has been seen from inside the city, with crowds at Kerry Park and the Lynn Street lookout on Queen Anne, and photographed over Edmonds and Mukilteo.
Golden Gardens in Ballard puts the Sound and the Olympics in front of you and the streetlights behind. Phone cameras in night mode record pink and green that the eye reads as gray haze; see how to photograph the aurora with an iPhone.
North up the Sound to the Skagit flats
For darker sky, people drive north along the water.
- Richmond Beach Saltwater Park in Shoreline, about 10 miles north of downtown, is a beach park on the Sound.
- Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo, about 25 miles north beside the Whidbey Island ferry, has water to the west and north.
- The Skagit Valley flats around Mount Vernon, about 60 miles north on I-5, are open farmland with low horizons all round. Big Lake and Edison are among the places photographers have shot from.
- Deception Pass State Park, at the north end of Whidbey Island about 80 miles from Seattle, closes to day visitors at dusk. North Beach, west of the bridge, looks straight across the pass.
Artist Point and Sunrise are late-summer roads
The mountain viewpoints are a late-summer option only. The road to Artist Point on the Mount Baker Highway is open from about July to October, and the Sunrise road at Mount Rainier from late June or early July to late September or early October.
The Washington page covers the rest of the state, including Spokane east of the Cascades.
FAQ
Can you see the northern lights from Seattle itself, or do you have to leave the city?
In a big storm, yes. In the strongest storms people have watched from Kerry Park, the Lynn Street lookout and their own porches on Queen Anne, and it has been photographed over the city and from Golden Gardens. For anything weaker than that the streetlights win, and you need to drive north to the Skagit flats or Whidbey Island.
Is Whidbey Island a good place to watch the northern lights from Seattle?
It is one of the usual drives. Deception Pass State Park at its north end, about 80 miles from Seattle, closes to day visitors at dusk; North Beach, west of the bridge, looks straight across the pass. Photos of the aurora from western Washington have come from Whidbey Island and from Mukilteo, where the island ferry leaves.
Why is Seattle so hard for the northern lights even when the forecast is good?
Cloud. The Seattle area averages about 200 cloudy days a year, most of the rain falls from October to March, and December gets only about a fifth of its possible sunshine. That is exactly the season with the longest nights. What works is a big storm that happens to land on one of the clear nights.
Can you see the aurora from Mount Rainier or Artist Point?
Only in late summer. The Sunrise road at Mount Rainier opens in late June or early July and closes in late September or early October, and the last stretch of the Mount Baker Highway to Artist Point is open from about July to October. The aurora has been photographed from both in the strongest storms, but for most of the aurora season those roads are shut.
When is the best time to see the northern lights in Seattle?
The nights in Seattle are dark all year. The aurora is rare in Seattle: your best chances are in November, and again in March. The longest nights, around 21 December, have about 13 hours of darkness.
Can you see the northern lights in Seattle in summer?
Yes. The nights in Seattle are dark all year, so the aurora can show in summer too when it reaches this far south.
What Kp index do I need to see the northern lights in Seattle?
In Seattle, you usually need at least Kp 7 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 Seattle, so seeing the aurora is unlikely.