An alert when the aurora can reach your own sky, the hours it is dark enough, and a camera that stacks a sharp shot.
AuroraCue: Aurora ForecastAn alert when the aurora can reach your own sky, the hours it is dark enough, and a camera that stacks a sharp shot.
Northern lights tonight in Illinois
Tonight the forecast peak is Kp 3.7. From northern Illinois: not expected. From Chicago: not expected.
The next three nights
| Night (9 pm to 3 am) | Peak Kp | Northern Illinois | Chicago |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wed, Nov 4 | 3.7 | Not expected | Not expected |
| Thu, Nov 5 | 2.0 | Not expected | Not expected |
| Fri, Nov 6 | n/a | No forecast yet | No forecast yet |
What Illinois needs
The aurora reaches the northern edge of Illinois at about Kp 7.2, and Chicago at about Kp 7.5. Kp is NOAA's 0-9 index of geomagnetic activity; the higher it goes, the farther south the aurora can be seen.
How to see it
- Get away from city lights and face north, with a clear view of the horizon.
- The best hours are usually 10 pm to 2 am, and clouds hide everything, so check the sky too.
- A phone camera on a long exposure often shows color the eye misses.
Northern lights tonight by city in Illinois
From the cities that need the least Kp to the most:
- Waukegan: about Kp 7.2
- Rockford: about Kp 7.3
- Palatine: about Kp 7.4
- Arlington Heights: about Kp 7.4
- Hoffman Estates: about Kp 7.4
- Mount Prospect: about Kp 7.4
- Elgin: about Kp 7.4
- Schaumburg: about Kp 7.4
- Evanston: about Kp 7.4
- Des Plaines: about Kp 7.4
- Skokie: about Kp 7.4
- Oak Park: about Kp 7.5
- Wheaton: about Kp 7.5
- Berwyn: about Kp 7.5
- Cicero: about Kp 7.5
- Chicago: about Kp 7.5
- Aurora: about Kp 7.5
- Naperville: about Kp 7.5
- Oak Lawn: about Kp 7.5
- Bolingbrook: about Kp 7.6
- Orland Park: about Kp 7.6
- Tinley Park: about Kp 7.6
- Joliet: about Kp 7.6
- Peoria: about Kp 7.9
- Normal: about Kp 8.1
- Bloomington: about Kp 8.1
- Champaign: about Kp 8.3
- Decatur: about Kp 8.4
- Springfield: about Kp 8.4
Forecast: NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center 3-day Kp forecast, refreshed every few hours. The visibility rule is approximate.