Northern lights in California

How often you can see the aurora in California

NOAA’s scale uses northern California as an example of where severe storms have brought the aurora, at about 45 degrees geomagnetic latitude. Severe storms come on about 60 days per 11-year solar cycle. Southern California needs an extreme storm, which happens only a few times per cycle. Even then the aurora is usually a low glow to the north. The table above shows each city’s level against tonight’s forecast.

Where to watch

• Far northern California: the most northerly part of the state, so the aurora sits a little higher in the sky. In May 2024, ABC7 reported that viewers far from city lights in Paradise could see it with the naked eye.
• Dark spots inland from the Bay Area: in May 2024, ABC7 shared a photo taken beside a vineyard in Yountville, in the Napa Valley.
• Certified dark-sky parks: Death Valley, Joshua Tree and Anza-Borrego are International Dark Sky Parks. They are very dark but far south, so they need the biggest storms.

Notable sightings

• May 10–11, 2024: during one of the strongest solar storms in two decades, ABC7 reported the aurora over the Bay Area and California. A Yountville photographer could not see it with her eyes but caught it with her iPhone’s night mode.
• November 5–6, 2001: the National Weather Service notes that a very large storm brought aurora as far south as San Diego.

Tips for California

• Trust your camera. At California’s latitude a phone or camera often shows an aurora you cannot see.
• Avoid fog and city glow. The coast is often foggy at night, and the big metro areas light up the sky for many miles.
• Find a low northern horizon. Hills and mountains block much of the north in the Coast Ranges and Sierra foothills.
• Look near midnight. NOAA says activity usually peaks within an hour or two of midnight.

Local resources

Browse certified dark-sky places and read how to see the northern lights. Neighbors: Oregon and Nevada.