Northern lights in New Mexico

Can you see the northern lights in New Mexico?

Only during the biggest storms. NOAA’s scale says severe storms have reached northern California, which shares northern New Mexico’s geomagnetic latitude band, and extreme storms reach southern Texas. Severe storms come on about 60 days per 11-year solar cycle, and extreme ones only a few times per cycle. The table above compares tonight’s forecast with each city’s level.

What recent storms showed

• November 11, 2025: KOB reported that the northern lights were seen all across New Mexico. They were bright enough in places to see with the naked eye, even inside some city limits, and photos came from places including Santa Fe, Taos, Farmington, Springer, Valles Caldera, Alamogordo and La Mesilla.
• May 10–11, 2024: during the strongest storm to reach Earth in two decades, NASA says auroras reached the southern US, with reports down to about 26 degrees magnetic latitude.

Where to look

New Mexico has many certified dark-sky places. For the aurora, the northern ones are best placed:

• Clayton Lake State Park: in the far northeast. New Mexico State Parks says it became the state’s first dark-sky park in 2010.
• Capulin Volcano National Monument: in the northeast, an International Dark Sky Park since 2016.
• Valles Caldera National Preserve: in the Jemez Mountains, an International Dark Sky Park since 2021. A KOB viewer photographed the aurora there in November 2025.
• Fort Union National Monument: northeast of Santa Fe, an International Dark Sky Park since 2019.

Tips

• Use your camera. NOAA notes that a dim aurora looks pale to the eye and shows color on a camera.
• Find an open north. Pick a spot where hills and mountains don’t block the low northern sky.
• Escape the city glow. Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Las Cruces brighten their surroundings.

Read how to see the northern lights and browse certified dark-sky places. Neighbors: Colorado and Arizona.