Seattle · PT
Can You See the Northern Lights in Seattle Tonight?
MAYBE in Seattle. Best window 7:45 PM–5:15 AM PDT. Main issue: Later hours rely on a coarser forecast, not the live oval.
Seattle
MAYBE
Not a definite show. Worth a look if you can get a dark north sky.
Tonight’s hours (PT)
| Period | Reading | Sky |
|---|---|---|
| 6:15 PM–6:45 PM PT | not dark yetnot dark yet | — |
| 6:45 PM–7:15 PM PT | not dark yetnot dark yet | — |
| 7:15 PM–7:45 PM PT | not dark yetnot dark yet | — |
| 7:45 PM–8:15 PM PT | MAYBEAny display would likely stay low on the northern horizon. | Clear |
| 8:15 PM–8:45 PM PT | MAYBEAny display would likely stay low on the northern horizon. | Clear |
Rest of the night
| 8:45 PM–9:15 PM PT | MAYBEAny display would likely stay low on the northern horizon. | Clear |
|---|---|---|
| 9:15 PM–9:45 PM PT | MAYBEAny display would likely stay low on the northern horizon. | Clear |
| 9:45 PM–10:15 PM PT | MAYBEAny display would likely stay low on the northern horizon. | Clear |
| 10:15 PM–10:45 PM PT | MAYBEAny display would likely stay low on the northern horizon. | Clear |
| 10:45 PM–11:15 PM PT | MAYBEAny display would likely stay low on the northern horizon. | Clear |
| 11:15 PM–11:45 PM PT | MAYBEAny display would likely stay low on the northern horizon. | Clear |
| 11:45 PM–12:15 AM PT | MAYBEAny display would likely stay low on the northern horizon. | Clear |
| 12:15 AM–12:45 AM PT | MAYBEAny display would likely stay low on the northern horizon. | Clear |
| 12:45 AM–1:15 AM PT | MAYBEAny display would likely stay low on the northern horizon. | Clear |
| 1:15 AM–1:45 AM PT | MAYBEAny display would likely stay low on the northern horizon. | Clear |
| 1:45 AM–2:15 AM PT | MAYBEAny display would likely stay low on the northern horizon. | Clear |
| 2:15 AM–2:45 AM PT | MAYBEAny display would likely stay low on the northern horizon. | Clear |
| 2:45 AM–3:15 AM PT | MAYBEAny display would likely stay low on the northern horizon. | Clear |
| 3:15 AM–3:45 AM PT | MAYBEAny display would likely stay low on the northern horizon. | Mixed |
| 3:45 AM–4:15 AM PT | MAYBEAny display would likely stay low on the northern horizon. | Mixed |
| 4:15 AM–4:45 AM PT | MAYBEAny display would likely stay low on the northern horizon. | Mixed |
| 4:45 AM–5:15 AM PT | MAYBEClouds are the main uncertainty. | Mixed |
| 5:15 AM–5:45 AM PT | NOCloud cover is likely to block the sky for the rest of the night. | Socked |
| 5:45 AM–6:15 AM PT | NOCloud cover is likely to block the sky for the rest of the night. | Socked |
| 6:15 AM–6:45 AM PT | not dark yetnot dark yet | — |
| 6:45 AM–7:15 AM PT | not dark yetnot dark yet | — |
Why this verdict
- Aurora reach
- Any display would likely stay low on the northern horizon.
- Clouds
- Cloud cover is likely to block the sky for the rest of the night.
- Darkness
- —
- Moon
- —
- City glow
- City skyglow will hide a weak display; leaving town helps.
- Data live
- Later hours rely on a coarser forecast, not the live oval.
Northern Lights Seattle tonight
The headline point is Seattle at magnetic latitude 53.1. Seattle sits in the sub oval band. Horizon aurora typically needs about Kp 5. Overhead color typically needs about Kp 7. Look north.
Summer twilight in Seattle is shorter than in Alaska, so a strong storm can still be usable if the sky is dark enough and clear.
Light, weather, and Seattle
Puget Sound is a bright urban corridor (Seattle–Tacoma–Everett). City parks are not dark sky. The Olympics and the east slopes of the Cascades are darker; the east side is also often clearer.
Leave downtown. Clouds are the usual Seattle killer — a darker but still socked-in hillside does not help. If the forecast is cloudy west of the Cascades and clearer east, the rain shadow matters more than driving ten minutes north.
Persistent marine cloud and drizzle; Puget Sound light dome; Olympics blocking some western horizons; summer twilight later than in the Midwest.
The oval can reach this latitude more often than Colorado, but winter is the cloudy season. Clear nights after a frontal passage, and the drier east side of the mountains, matter as much as Kp.
Sample points for Northern Lights Seattle
- Seattle · population · mag 53.1
The shared darkness, aurora-reach, cloud, glow, moon, freshness, and status gates are documented in how we decide. This page applies them to Seattle and keeps the local facts above.
What to do
- Leave downtown. Clouds are the usual Seattle killer — a darker but still socked-in hillside does not help. If the forecast is cloudy west of the Cascades and clearer east, the rain shadow matters more than driving ten minutes north.
- Face north.
Nearby
Local FAQ
Can I see the northern lights from Seattle tonight?
From the city, only in a strong storm and usually as a horizon glow. Clouds stop more Seattle nights than the oval does.
Should I drive east of the Cascades?
If western Washington is socked in and the east side is clear, yes — darkness and holes in the clouds beat sitting in the city under a stratus deck. Eastern Washington gets its own page later; until then this page will say when leaving the west side is the point.
Is Seattle better than Portland?
Slightly higher latitude, similar cloud problem. Neither is Fairbanks. Both are “maybe in a storm if the sky opens.”