NOAA Space Weather

Aurora forecasts, space weather alerts and Kp outlooks

NOAA Space Weather provides near-term aurora chances, current geomagnetic activity, a three-day Kp outlook, and NOAA alerts from the past 1–7 days.

Get aurora forecast

Get the 30-minute chance of aurora overhead near a place, current geomagnetic activity, and the three-day Kp outlook. Visibility also depends on darkness and local conditions; tonight uses approximate local solar hours 18:00–06:00.

Your information

Location

City or place near which to check the aurora, for example Fairbanks or Edinburgh.

1 credit per completed run

The same inputs also work from your code or an AI assistant. See For developers.

Example results

Aurora overhead chance

Chance overhead6%30-minute forecast

unlikelyG0 None

Current Kp1Geomagnetic activity

Highest Kp tonight4Approximate local solar hours 18:00–06:00

Northern lights, Fairbanks, Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, United States

Forecast time, Oct 5, 7:44 AM

Three-day Kp outlook

Kp 4.67Oct 5, 12:00 AM
Kp 4Oct 5, 3:00 AM
Kp 3.33Oct 5, 6:00 AM
Kp 3.33Oct 5, 9:00 AM
Kp 2.67Oct 5, 12:00 PM
Kp 2.33Oct 5, 3:00 PM
Kp 2.33Oct 5, 6:00 PM
Kp 2.33Oct 5, 9:00 PM
Kp 3.33Oct 6, 12:00 AM
Kp 3.67Oct 6, 3:00 AM
Kp 3Oct 6, 6:00 AM
Kp 3Oct 6, 9:00 AM
Kp 2.33Oct 6, 12:00 PM
Kp 2Oct 6, 3:00 PM
Kp 2Oct 6, 6:00 PM
Kp 1.67Oct 6, 9:00 PM
Kp 2.33Oct 7, 12:00 AM
Kp 2.67Oct 7, 3:00 AM
Kp 2Oct 7, 6:00 AM
Kp 2.33Oct 7, 9:00 AM
Kp 2.33Oct 7, 12:00 PM
Kp 2Oct 7, 3:00 PM
Kp 2Oct 7, 6:00 PM
Kp 1.67Oct 7, 9:00 PM

View NOAA aurora forecast

About the NOAA Space Weather tool

NOAA Space Weather, also called NOAA SWPC, gives aurora chances and Kp outlooks for a required city or place.

List space weather alerts returns recent NOAA messages; provide how many days back to look, from 1 to 7.

Built from swpc.noaa.gov and nominatim.openstreetmap.org. Last checked Oct 7, 2026.

Actions

Get aurora forecast

1 credit

Uses NOAA Space Weather and nominatim.openstreetmap.org.

What you provide

Field	Type	Required	Description
Location`location`	Text	Required	City or place near which to check the aurora, for example Fairbanks or Edinburgh.Example: Fairbanks

What you get

Field	Type	Description
Verdict`verdict`	Text	Likely (50% or more), possible (10–49%), or unlikely (below 10%).Example: Unlikely
Latitude`latitude`	Number	Latitude of matched place.Example: 64.837845
Longitude`longitude`	Number	Longitude of matched place.Example: -147.716675
Current Kp`current_kp`	Number	Latest estimated planetary Kp on a 0–9 scale.Example: 1
Aurora Type`aurora_type`	Text	Northern or southern lights at this latitude.Example: Northern lights
Storm Level`storm_level`	Text	Current NOAA geomagnetic storm level in words.Example: G0 None
Forecast Time`forecast_time`	Text	Time of the aurora forecast, ISO 8601 with offset.Example: 2026-10-05T07:44:00+00:00
Matched Place`matched_place`	Text	Place matched to the location.Example: Fairbanks, Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, United States
Aurora Page Link`aurora_page_link`	Text	NOAA aurora forecast page.Example: https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/aurora-30-minute-forecast
Highest Kp Tonight`highest_kp_tonight`	Number	Highest predicted Kp in the available 18:00–06:00 local solar night periods, or null when unavailable.Example: 4
Aurora Chance (%)`aurora_chance_percent`	Number	Forecast chance of aurora overhead, in percent.Example: 6
Three Day Kp Forecast`three_day_kp_forecast`	List	Three-day outlook at three-hour UTC intervals.
Kp`three_day_kp_forecast[].kp`	Number	Predicted planetary Kp.Example: 4.67
Start Time`three_day_kp_forecast[].start_time`	Text	Three-hour interval start time, ISO 8601 with offset.Example: 2026-10-05T00:00:00+00:00

Example result

For Location: Fairbanks

JSON

{
  "verdict": "unlikely",
  "latitude": 64.837845,
  "longitude": -147.716675,
  "current_kp": 1,
  "aurora_type": "Northern lights",
  "storm_level": "G0 None",
  "forecast_time": "2026-10-05T07:44:00+00:00",
  "matched_place": "Fairbanks, Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, United States",
  "aurora_page_link": "https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/aurora-30-minute-forecast",
  "highest_kp_tonight": 4,
  "aurora_chance_percent": 6,
  "three_day_kp_forecast": [
    {
      "kp": 4.67,
      "start_time": "2026-10-05T00:00:00+00:00"
    },
    {
      "kp": 4,
      "start_time": "2026-10-05T03:00:00+00:00"
    },
    {
      "kp": 3.33,
      "start_time": "2026-10-05T06:00:00+00:00"
    }
  ]
}

List space weather alerts

1 credit

List NOAA space weather alerts, warnings, watches, and summaries issued in the past 1–7 days, newest first. Validity times and NOAA scale levels are included when the message gives them.

What you provide

Field	Type	Required	Description
Days`days`	Number	Optional	How many days back to look, from 1 to 7. Example: 3.Example: 7

What you get

Field	Type	Description
Messages`messages`	List	Messages issued during the selected period, newest first.
Kind`messages[].kind`	Text	Type of space weather message.Example: Alert
Title`messages[].title`	Text	Message headline without its alert, watch, warning or summary prefix.Example: Electron 2MeV Integral Flux exceeded 1,000pfu
Valid to`messages[].valid_to`	Text	UTC end time if supplied in the message, ISO 8601 with offset.
Page Link`messages[].page_link`	Text	NOAA page listing space weather alerts, watches, and warnings.Example: https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/alerts-watches-and-warnings
Issue Time`messages[].issue_time`	Text	UTC issue time in ISO 8601 with offset.Example: 2026-09-28T05:00:40.090+00:00
Valid From`messages[].valid_from`	Text	UTC start time if supplied in the message, ISO 8601 with offset.Example: 2026-09-26T15:35:00+00:00
Message Text`messages[].message_text`	Text	Full message as published by NOAA.Example: Space Weather Message Code: ALTEF3 Serial Number: 3747 Issue Time: 2026 Sep 28…
Product Code`messages[].product_code`	Text	NOAA product identifier.Example: ALTEF3
Serial Number`messages[].serial_number`	Text	NOAA message serial number.Example: 3747
Noaa Scale Level`messages[].noaa_scale_level`	Text	NOAA scale code and level in words, when given.

Example result

For Days: 7

JSON

{
  "messages": [
    {
      "kind": "alert",
      "title": "Electron 2MeV Integral Flux exceeded 1,000pfu",
      "valid_to": null,
      "page_link": "https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/alerts-watches-and-warnings",
      "issue_time": "2026-09-28T05:00:40.090+00:00",
      "valid_from": "2026-09-26T15:35:00+00:00",
      "message_text": "Space Weather Message Code: ALTEF3\r\nSerial Number: 3747\r\nIssue Time: 2026 Sep 28 0500 UTC\r\n\r\nCONTINUED ALERT: Electron 2MeV Integral Flux exceeded 1,000pfu\nContinuation of Serial Number: 3746\nBegin Ti…",
      "product_code": "ALTEF3",
      "serial_number": "3747",
      "noaa_scale_level": null
    },
    {
      "kind": "alert",
      "title": "Electron 2MeV Integral Flux exceeded 1,000pfu",
      "valid_to": null,
      "page_link": "https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/alerts-watches-and-warnings",
      "issue_time": "2026-09-27T05:02:04.940+00:00",
      "valid_from": "2026-09-26T15:35:00+00:00",
      "message_text": "Space Weather Message Code: ALTEF3\r\nSerial Number: 3746\r\nIssue Time: 2026 Sep 27 0502 UTC\r\n\r\nCONTINUED ALERT: Electron 2MeV Integral Flux exceeded 1,000pfu\nContinuation of Serial Number: 3745\nBegin Ti…",
      "product_code": "ALTEF3",
      "serial_number": "3746",
      "noaa_scale_level": null
    },
    {
      "kind": "alert",
      "title": "Geomagnetic K-index of 4",
      "valid_to": null,
      "page_link": "https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/alerts-watches-and-warnings",
      "issue_time": "2026-09-27T00:40:33.327+00:00",
      "valid_from": null,
      "message_text": "Space Weather Message Code: ALTK04\r\nSerial Number: 2688\r\nIssue Time: 2026 Sep 27 0040 UTC\r\n\r\nALERT: Geomagnetic K-index of 4 \nThreshold Reached: 2026 Sep 27 0040 UTC\nSynoptic Period: 0000-0300\nActive …",
      "product_code": "ALTK04",
      "serial_number": "2688",
      "noaa_scale_level": null
    }
  ]
}

For developers

Call it from your code with one request. Change the values in input to run it on new data. To get an API key, open Developers at the bottom of Studio, turn on Developer mode and go to API keys.

cURL

curl 'https://api.fous.com/v1/query' \
  --fail-with-body --silent --show-error --max-time 180 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data-raw '{
  "api": "@noaa-space-weather",
  "visibility": "public",
  "operation": "get_aurora_forecast",
  "version": 1,
  "input": {
    "location": "Fairbanks"
  },
  "response": {
    "format": "json"
  }
}'

What you can do with it

Check aurora chances near a destination
Compare current geomagnetic activity with the three-day Kp outlook
Review recent NOAA space weather alerts and warnings
Track alert issue and validity times

Questions about NOAA Space Weather

Can I run it with my own inputs?

Yes. Change the inputs in Studio and press Run, or send new inputs from your code, or ask a connected AI assistant.

Can I call this NOAA Space Weather tool as an API?

Yes. Send a POST request to /v1/query with your Fous API key and the inputs, and get JSON back.

How much does it cost?

Each completed run costs 1 credit. Failed runs without a completed receipt are free; completed work can remain charged if delivery is interrupted. With pay as you go, a credit costs 1¢. Monthly plans cost less per credit.

Do I need a NOAA Space Weather account?

No. You only need a Fous account.

How current is the data?

Fous gets the data from swpc.noaa.gov when you run it. Some results are reused for up to 24 hours, and results that use your account or key are never reused. It was last verified on Oct 7, 2026.