How many geomagnetic storm days were there in 1986?

50 UTC days reached Kp 5 (G1) or more in the GFZ record. 3 reached Kp 8 (G4).

What was the strongest geomagnetic storm of 1986?

The highest 3-hour Kp was 9, first reached on February 8, 1986.

How far south could aurora reach in 1986?

At Kp 9 SWPC's rule puts the average oval edge near 48.0 degrees geomagnetic. Viewing reaches farther, since aurora can be seen from as far as about 1,000 km away.

Does Glow count 5- as a storm?

No. A level counts from the whole Kp value, so 5- (4.67) is below G1 and 8- is below G4. Other sites may round differently.

GFZ Potsdam Kp record · 1986

Geomagnetic storms in 1986

Answer

In 1986 the GFZ Potsdam record has 50 UTC days whose highest 3-hour Kp reached 5 or more, the G1 storm level, against a median of 51.5 for the 94 complete years since 1932. That ranks 1986 48th of 94 by storm days.

days at Kp 5 or more

GFZ Kp, 365 days

Storm days by month

February was the stormiest month with 7 storm days. 1 of 12 months had none. March, April, September and October together account for 15 of the 50, the equinox months SWPC links with larger storms.

Storm levels against the median year

By level, the year counts 50 at G1, 14 at G2, 5 at G3, 3 at G4, 1 at G5. The highest 3-hour value was Kp 9, G5 Extreme on NOAA's scale. The average day peaked at Kp 3.36, against 3.36 in the median year.

Days per NOAA G level, 1986 and the median of 94 complete years
Level	Kp	1986	Median year
G1 Minor	5	50	51.5
G2 Moderate	6	14	20
G3 Strong	7	5	6.5
G4 Severe	8	3	2
G5 Extreme	9	1	0

A day counts at a level when its highest 3-hour Kp reached the whole value; 5- does not count as G1.

How far the oval reached

At the year's peak, Kp 9, SWPC's rule of thumb puts the average oval edge at 48.0 degrees geomagnetic. 1196 of Glow's 1218 towns sit at or poleward of that line, including 328 in United Kingdom, 246 in United States, 181 in Canada.

Highest days of 1986
Date (UTC)	Highest Kp
February 8, 1986	9
February 9, 1986	9-
September 12, 1986	9-
February 7, 1986	8-
May 3, 1986	7+

G4 storm events

2 separate periods reached G4 (Kp 8) or more: February 8, 1986 (peak Kp 9); September 12, 1986 (peak Kp 9-). For context, 1985 had 63 storm days and 1987 had 36 storm days.

Questions

How many geomagnetic storm days were there in 1986?: 50 UTC days reached Kp 5 (G1) or more in the GFZ record. 3 reached Kp 8 (G4).
What was the strongest geomagnetic storm of 1986?: The highest 3-hour Kp was 9, first reached on February 8, 1986.
How far south could aurora reach in 1986?: At Kp 9 SWPC's rule puts the average oval edge near 48.0 degrees geomagnetic. Viewing reaches farther, since aurora can be seen from as far as about 1,000 km away.
Does Glow count 5- as a storm?: No. A level counts from the whole Kp value, so 5- (4.67) is below G1 and 8- is below G4. Other sites may round differently.

Sources and verification

GFZ Potsdam, Kp index datahttps://kp.gfz.de/en/data
Matzka et al. 2021, Geomagnetic Kp index, GFZ Data Serviceshttps://doi.org/10.5880/Kp.0001
NOAA SWPC, Tips on viewing the aurorahttps://www.spaceweather.gov/content/tips-viewing-aurora
NOAA Space Weather Scaleshttps://www.spaceweather.gov/noaa-scales-explanation

Quoted figures last checked against their sources on 2026-09-30; next review 2026-12-31. Computed figures come from SunCalc and the IGRF-14 dipole as described in the methodology. Every quote is listed in the sources ledger.