Washington, United States
Northern lights in Spokane
Answer
Tonight
Darkness window open
Civil darkness has begun.
Observed 11:49 UTC, forecast 13:20 UTC, 91 min lead
Clock times in America/Los_Angeles
Valid 12:00 to 13:00 UTC
Storm level needed
Spokane sits at 47.66N 117.43W in Washington, United States. The IGRF-14 centered dipole puts Spokane at 53.7 degrees geomagnetic latitude, 6.1 degrees closer to the magnetic pole than its map latitude suggests. Spokane sits at 53.7 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 7.
"aurora has been seen as low as Illinois and Oregon (typically 50° geomagnetic lat.)"
The nearest other Glow towns are Spokane Valley (14 km), Tri-Cities (207 km), Cranbrook (238 km). Spokane Valley sits 0.0 degrees higher on the dipole and needs the same Kp.
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 Spokane has some civil darkness; the shortest month sample still has 6.5 hours. Every evening of the year at Spokane clears Glow's dark-season bar of 4 hours of civil night between 18:00 and 06:00. Spokane's longest night of the year, Dec 19, has 14 h 17 min of civil night.
Solar midnight at Spokane, when the sun is lowest, falls at 23:45 on local clocks on December 15 and 00:50 on June 15. That is 15 min before midnight in December and 50 min after midnight in June, the gap set by daylight saving and the equation of time. So at Spokane 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 | 13.8 h | 11.3 h | 79% | 2.9 h | |
| Feb | 12.5 h | 10.1 h | 72% | 3.5 h | |
| Mar | 11.0 h | 8.5 h | 74% | 2.9 h | |
| Apr | 9.1 h | 6.3 h | 69% | 2.8 h | |
| May | 7.5 h | 3.8 h | 62% | 2.9 h | |
| Jun | 6.5 h | 1.3 h | 57% | 2.8 h | |
| Jul | 7.0 h | 2.8 h | 30% | 4.9 h | |
| Aug | 8.5 h | 5.5 h | 35% | 5.5 h | |
| Sep | 10.3 h | 7.8 h | 46% | 5.6 hbest | |
| Oct | 12.0 h | 9.6 h | 61% | 4.7 h | |
| Nov | 13.5 h | 11.1 h | 76% | 3.2 h | |
| Dec | 14.3 h | 11.7 h | 79% | 3.0 h |
By the 15th-of-the-month sample, December is the darkest month at Spokane with 14.3 hours of civil night and June the lightest at 6.5. Across the year Spokane gets 3,833 hours of civil night. Astronomical night at Spokane, the sun 18 degrees or more below the horizon, lasts 11.7 hours on December 15.
NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 all-hours climatology puts mean cloud amount for the 1 degree cell around Spokane at 62% across the year, from 30% in July to 79% in January. In the months with at least 4 hours of civil night Spokane averages 62%, 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, 5.6 hours, ahead of August at 5.5. Spokane's equinox months score 2.9 in March and 5.6 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 7 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge over Spokane, on 1% of days. At Spokane's level the share runs from 0% in February to 2% in October, 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 7. 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/Los_Angeles dates. 15 of the 30 nights at Spokane have at least 2 moon-free dark hours inside 10 PM to 2 AM, and Oct 5 has the most at 4 h. Tonight Spokane has 11 h 15 min of civil night, 2 h 4 min of it with the moon down.
- 1
64% lit
2.1 h
- 2
53% lit
3.2 h
- 3
42% lit
4.5 h
- 4
31% lit
5.9 h
- 5
21% lit
7.3 h
- 6
13% lit
8.6 h
- 7
6% lit
9.9 h
- 8
2% lit
11.2 h
- 9
0% lit
11.7 h
- 10
1% lit
11.8 h
- 11
3% lit
11.8 h
- 12
7% lit
11.8 h
- 13
13% lit
11.6 h
- 14
20% lit
11.0 h
- 15
28% lit
10.2 h
- 16
37% lit
9.3 h
- 17
46% lit
8.3 h
- 18
56% lit
7.1 h
- 19
65% lit
6.0 h
- 20
74% lit
4.8 h
- 21
83% lit
3.6 h
- 22
90% lit
2.5 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
0.0 h
- 28
87% lit
0.8 h
- 29
78% lit
1.9 h
- 30
68% lit
3.1 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 13 Glow towns in Washington, Spokane ranks 3rd by dipole latitude against a regional median of 53.0 degrees; Bellingham sits highest at 54.1. Among the 136 Glow towns in United States, Spokane ranks 18th by dipole latitude against a national median of 51.5 degrees; Fairbanks sits highest at 65.7. On December 15 Spokane gets 14.3 hours of civil night, 6th longest of 136 in United States, where the median is 13.8.
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Spokane?
- Spokane sits at 53.7 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 7. Clear, dark sky over Spokane still decides it.
- When is it dark enough in Spokane?
- Every night at Spokane has civil darkness. Tonight has 11 h 15 min, and December 15 has 14.3 hours.
- What is the best month for aurora in Spokane?
- September, by civil night at Spokane times the clear share of the sky from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 average.
- How cloudy is Spokane in the dark months?
- About 62% mean cloud amount over Spokane 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 Spokane?
- A 3-hour Kp of 7 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge overhead, occurred on 1% of days from 1996 to 2025 in the GFZ Potsdam record.
Nearby and related
Nearest Glow towns
Spokane by month
Region and comparisons