Aurora forecast alert

Canada northern lights tonight: Hay River leads, Rankin Inlet follows

Hay River has Canada's strongest viewing chance, followed by Rankin Inlet. Lower-probability calls extend across five other listed cities.

By AuroraMe Space Weather Desk Published Aug 11, 2026, 01:31 CET/CEST Updated Aug 11, 2026, 01:31 CET/CEST Forecast window 2026-08-12, around Aug 12, 00:00 MDT in Hay River
Aurora visibility tonight LIKELY

Tonight is highly actionable in Hay River, while Rankin Inlet and the lower-probability listed cities require closer live monitoring.

Kp peak 5.0 Storm-level activity
Top city odds 79% Hay River
Best window Aug 12, 00:00 MDT Local time
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Quick answer

Northern lights are likely in Canada tonight, with Hay River the strongest call at 79%. Rankin Inlet is at 28%; Prince George, Moose Jaw, Swift Current, Thunder Bay and Medicine Hat are each at 19%. Hay River's best window is Aug 12, 00:00 MDT. Clouds can block the view, so check the live city forecast.

City forecast

Where aurora is forecast tonight

Country City Best local window Visibility call Cloud risk
Canada Hay River 2026-08-12, around Aug 12, 00:00 MDT Likely Check live cloud layer
Canada Rankin Inlet 2026-08-12, around Aug 12, 00:00 MDT Likely Check live cloud layer
Canada Prince George 2026-08-12, around Aug 12, 00:00 MDT Likely Check live cloud layer
Canada Moose Jaw 2026-08-12, around Aug 12, 00:00 MDT Likely Check live cloud layer
Canada Swift Current 2026-08-12, around Aug 12, 00:00 MDT Likely Check live cloud layer
Canada Thunder Bay 2026-08-12, around Aug 12, 00:00 MDT Likely Check live cloud layer
Canada Medicine Hat 2026-08-12, around Aug 12, 00:00 MDT Likely Check live cloud layer
Event snapshot

City Aurora Scores for this Kp 5.0 event

2026-08-12 · peak Kp 5.0 AuroraMe per-city visibility score, top 7 cities Hay River 79/100 Rankin Inlet 28/100 Prince George 19/100 Moose Jaw 19/100 Swift Current 19/100 Thunder Bay 19/100 Medicine Hat 19/100

Probabilities combine the Kp forecast with each city's visibility threshold, darkness window and cloud outlook at generation time. Live values on each city page override this snapshot.

Where to go

Countries and cities in the aurora zone

The strongest targets are not just countries. They are specific cities and nearby dark-sky edges where the Kp, darkness window and local visibility threshold line up tonight.

NOAA northern hemisphere aurora forecast map
AuroraMe converts Kp 5.0 into city calls by combining OVATION data with local visibility factors.
Canada city outlook

This alert names cities because northern lights visibility differs across Canada.

Hay River is tonight's clearest Canadian option at 79%, with its best local time at Aug 12, 00:00 MDT. Rankin Inlet is the secondary option at 28%, best at Aug 12, 01:00 CDT.

Prince George is at 19%, best at Aug 11, 23:00 PDT. Moose Jaw and Swift Current are best at Aug 12, 00:00 CST; Thunder Bay at Aug 12, 02:00 EDT; Medicine Hat at Aug 12, 00:00 MDT. Each is at 19%.

What to do

A simple plan for tonight

1

Check the live city forecast; clouds can block the view.

2

Reach a dark, open location before your city's best local time.

3

Keep AuroraMe alerts enabled for notice about 1 hour before aurora starts.

Forecast basis

Sources and live checks

This forecast uses the AuroraMe 72-hour city forecast, NOAA SWPC Kp, OVATION and local visibility factors.