Idaho, United States
Northern lights in Idaho Falls
Answer
Tonight
Darkness window open
Civil darkness has begun.
Observed 11:49 UTC, forecast 13:20 UTC, 91 min lead
Clock times in America/Boise
Valid 12:00 to 13:00 UTC
Storm level needed
Idaho Falls sits at 43.47N 112.03W in Idaho, United States. The IGRF-14 centered dipole puts Idaho Falls at 50.3 degrees geomagnetic latitude, 6.8 degrees closer to the magnetic pole than its map latitude suggests. Idaho Falls sits at 50.3 degrees geomagnetic. The lowest NOAA storm level whose typical viewing latitude reaches it is G3 (Kp = 7). By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead only at Kp 8.
"aurora has been seen as low as Illinois and Oregon (typically 50° geomagnetic lat.)"
The nearest other Glow towns are Billings (380 km), Missoula (409 km), Great Falls (452 km). Billings sits 2.7 degrees higher on the dipole, Kp 7 against 8 here.
Approximate: SWPC calls its Kp to latitude rule an average, and a centered dipole can differ by a degree from fuller field models. How the storm level is matched
The year in darkness
Every night of 2026 at Idaho Falls has some civil darkness; the shortest month sample still has 7.3 hours. Every evening of the year at Idaho Falls clears Glow's dark-season bar of 4 hours of civil night between 18:00 and 06:00. Idaho Falls's longest night of the year, Dec 17, has 13 h 52 min of civil night.
Solar midnight at Idaho Falls, when the sun is lowest, falls at 00:23 on local clocks on December 15 and 01:28 on June 15. That is 23 min after midnight in December and 1 h 28 min after midnight in June, the gap set by daylight saving and the equation of time. So at Idaho Falls the darkest hour sits near the middle of SWPC's 10 PM to 2 AM window in winter.
Month by month
| Month | Night | Civil | Cloud | Clear dark | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 13.5 h | 11.2 h | 73% | 3.6 h | |
| Feb | 12.4 h | 10.2 h | 73% | 3.3 h | |
| Mar | 11.0 h | 8.8 h | 68% | 3.5 h | |
| Apr | 9.4 h | 7.0 h | 62% | 3.6 h | |
| May | 8.1 h | 5.0 h | 57% | 3.5 h | |
| Jun | 7.3 h | 3.7 h | 45% | 4.0 h | |
| Jul | 7.7 h | 4.4 h | 33% | 5.2 h | |
| Aug | 8.9 h | 6.3 h | 36% | 5.7 h | |
| Sep | 10.5 h | 8.2 h | 39% | 6.4 hbest | |
| Oct | 11.9 h | 9.7 h | 52% | 5.7 h | |
| Nov | 13.2 h | 10.9 h | 63% | 4.9 h | |
| Dec | 13.8 h | 11.5 h | 75% | 3.5 h |
By the 15th-of-the-month sample, December is the darkest month at Idaho Falls with 13.9 hours of civil night and June the lightest at 7.3. Across the year Idaho Falls gets 3,884 hours of civil night. Astronomical night at Idaho Falls, the sun 18 degrees or more below the horizon, lasts 11.5 hours on December 15.
NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 all-hours climatology puts mean cloud amount for the 1 degree cell around Idaho Falls at 56% across the year, from 33% in July to 75% in December. In the months with at least 4 hours of civil night Idaho Falls averages 56%, against a median of 61% for Glow towns in United States.
Multiplying civil night by the clear share of the sky gives September the best score, 6.4 hours, ahead of October at 5.7. Idaho Falls's equinox months score 3.5 in March and 6.4 in September, the weeks SWPC links with larger storms.
Kp history
From 1996 to 2025, the GFZ Potsdam record shows a 3-hour Kp of 8 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge over Idaho Falls, on 0% of days. At Idaho Falls's level the share runs from 0% in February to 1% in November, while storm days with Kp 5 or more made up 10%.
Share of UTC days in each calendar month whose highest 3-hour Kp reached Kp 8. Kp history by year
Moon, next 30 nights
Over the 30 nights from Oct 1, the new moon falls on Oct 10 and the full moon on Oct 25, in America/Boise dates. 15 of the 30 nights at Idaho Falls have at least 2 moon-free dark hours inside 10 PM to 2 AM, and Oct 5 has the most at 4 h. Tonight Idaho Falls has 11 h 16 min of civil night, 2 h 25 min of it with the moon down.
- 1
65% lit
2.4 h
- 2
54% lit
3.5 h
- 3
42% lit
4.8 h
- 4
31% lit
6.1 h
- 5
21% lit
7.4 h
- 6
13% lit
8.7 h
- 7
7% lit
9.9 h
- 8
2% lit
11.1 h
- 9
0% lit
11.7 h
- 10
1% lit
11.7 h
- 11
3% lit
11.8 h
- 12
7% lit
11.7 h
- 13
13% lit
11.2 h
- 14
20% lit
10.6 h
- 15
28% lit
9.8 h
- 16
37% lit
8.9 h
- 17
46% lit
7.9 h
- 18
56% lit
6.8 h
- 19
65% lit
5.7 h
- 20
74% lit
4.6 h
- 21
82% lit
3.5 h
- 22
90% lit
2.4 h
- 23
95% lit
1.2 h
- 24
99% lit
0.0 h
- 25
100% lit
0.0 h
- 26
98% lit
0.0 h
- 27
94% lit
0.1 h
- 28
87% lit
1.0 h
- 29
78% lit
2.1 h
- 30
68% lit
3.3 h
Each cell is the night that starts on that date. Hours are civil-dark time with the moon below the horizon; the green rule scales with them. Green outline: new moon. Bone outline: full moon.
Within United States
Among the 136 Glow towns in United States, Idaho Falls ranks 125th by dipole latitude against a national median of 51.5 degrees; Fairbanks sits highest at 65.7. On December 15 Idaho Falls gets 13.9 hours of civil night, 44th longest of 136 in United States, where the median is 13.8.
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Idaho Falls?
- Idaho Falls sits at 50.3 degrees geomagnetic. The lowest NOAA storm level whose typical viewing latitude reaches it is G3 (Kp = 7). By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead only at Kp 8. Clear, dark sky over Idaho Falls still decides it.
- When is it dark enough in Idaho Falls?
- Every night at Idaho Falls has civil darkness. Tonight has 11 h 16 min, and December 15 has 13.9 hours.
- What is the best month for aurora in Idaho Falls?
- September, by civil night at Idaho Falls times the clear share of the sky from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 average.
- How cloudy is Idaho Falls in the dark months?
- About 56% mean cloud amount over Idaho Falls in the months with at least 4 hours of civil night, from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 all-hours climatology.
- How often is activity high enough for Idaho Falls?
- A 3-hour Kp of 8 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge overhead, occurred on 0% of days from 1996 to 2025 in the GFZ Potsdam record.
Nearby and related
Nearest Glow towns
Idaho Falls by month
Region and comparisons