How far south can you see the northern lights?
On an ordinary active night the northern lights reach about 56 to 58° magnetic latitude, which takes in Scotland, southern Scandinavia and the Canadian prairies. A strong storm (Kp 7 to 8) brings them over the northern United States and much of northern Europe, and a rare extreme storm like May 2024 has put them as far south as Florida and Mexico.
How far south depends on two things: how strong the geomagnetic activity is, measured by Kp, and your magnetic latitude, which can be quite different from your latitude on a map. Here is how far the aurora reaches at each Kp level, with real places, and how often each level comes round.
Kp and how far south it reaches
| Kp | Reaches about (magnetic latitude) | Days a year Kp gets there | Places this level newly reaches (Kp each needs) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 64.5° | 357 | Tromsø (0), Fairbanks (0.5), Yellowknife (0), Abisko (0.6), Kiruna (0.8), Svalbard (0), Churchill (0), Kangerlussuaq (0), Ilulissat (0), Levi (0.7), Alta (0), Dawson City (0.3), Senja (0.1), Akureyri * (0.5), Inuvik (0) |
| 2 | 61.8° | 311 | Reykjavík (1.1), Whitehorse (1.3), Rovaniemi (1.3) |
| 3 | 60.2° | 226 | Anchorage * (2.1) |
| 4 | 58.4° | 128 | Jasper (3.7), Edmonton (3.2, est.) |
| 5 | 56.2° | 59 | Shetland (4.4), Winnipeg (4.1, est.), Calgary (4.5, est.), Helsinki (4.4, est.), Stockholm (4.6, est.), Oslo (5.0, est.) |
| 6 | 54.1° | 23 | Inverness * (5.5) |
| 7 | 51.9° | 8 | Edinburgh (6.2, est.), Seattle (6.3, est.), Minneapolis (6.3, est.), Toronto (7.0, est.) |
| 8 | 49.8° | 3 | Copenhagen (7.1, est.), Dublin (7.2, est.), Manchester (7.4, est.), Boston (7.6, est.), Chicago (7.7, est.) |
| 9 | 47.6° | under 1 | Amsterdam (8.2, est.), New York (8.3, est.), London (8.4, est.), Berlin (8.6, est.), Denver (9.0, est.), Washington, DC (9.0, est.), Paris (9.0, est.) |
The magnetic latitudes come from our own calibration, the curve every forecast on this site uses. The places with a link are destinations we forecast (* means its own threshold is still an estimate); the cities marked "est." are our estimates from the same model. Above Kp 4.4, the level Shetland needs, the curve is extended past the last place we have calibrated, so those rows are estimates too. Each row includes everything in the rows above it. A place on its threshold sees the aurora low on the northern horizon on a clear, dark night; overhead takes more. The days a year column is the long-run average since 1932, and a ceiling: it counts any day Kp got there, even if that hour was daylight.
Why your map latitude can mislead you
The aurora is centred on the magnetic pole, which sits over northern Canada, not on the geographic pole. North America is tilted toward it and Europe away from it. Seattle (47.6°N) and Edinburgh (56.0°N) need about the same Kp, around 6, even though Edinburgh is more than 8 degrees further north. London, further north than Minneapolis, needs about Kp 8.4 against 6.3. Your magnetic latitude is what counts, and you can check any town on the live aurora map.
The extreme cases
Kp stops at 9, so the scale can't tell a strong Kp 9 storm from an extreme one. That is where the records sit. On 10 to 11 May 2024, Kp reached 9 and NOAA declared its first G5, or extreme, geomagnetic storm since October 2003. The aurora was reported as far south as Florida and Mexico, far beyond where the table above puts Kp 9. The 1859 Carrington Event is thought to have been stronger still. Storms like these come a few times a century: by the GFZ record, Kp 9 has been reached on about 28 days since 1932.
The southern lights
The same holds in the southern hemisphere, around the south magnetic pole. Hobart, in Tasmania, needs about Kp 6.3, and by our estimate Invercargill in New Zealand needs about 6.5 and Melbourne about 8.6. More in aurora borealis vs aurora australis.
Seeing it from further south
- Look north, low. From the edge of its reach the aurora sits on the northern horizon, so you need an open view that way.
- Get away from lights. At the southern limit the display is faint to the eye. A phone camera often shows colour you can't see yourself.
- Watch the live numbers, not the headlines. A storm forecast says what might happen; Bz turning south and Kp climbing say it is happening. See Bz explained and the G-scale.
If you'd rather go to the aurora than wait for it, see the best places to see the northern lights.
Related questions
Can you see the northern lights in the US?
Yes. In Alaska on most clear winter nights, and in the northern states during geomagnetic storms: by our estimate Seattle and Minneapolis need about Kp 6.3, Chicago about 7.7 and New York about 8.3.
Can you see the northern lights in England?
During strong storms. By our estimate Manchester needs about Kp 7.4 and London about 8.4, a few days a year at most. Scotland does far better: Inverness needs about Kp 5.5 and Shetland about 4.4.
What Kp do you need to see the northern lights in the northern US?
Around Kp 6 for the northern tier, such as Washington State and Minnesota, and Kp 7 to 8 for places like Chicago, Boston and New York. Darker skies away from cities help at every level.
What is the furthest south the northern lights have been seen?
In the May 2024 storm the aurora was reported as far south as Florida and Mexico. The 1859 Carrington Event is thought to have reached further still.