Can we see the aurora from the Vancouver area in November?

August 5, 2023 3:38 PM

I have a conference trip planned for mid-November of this year in Vancouver, Canada. This will provide an opportunity to tack on a vacation with my spouse. If there's a chance of being able to see the northern lights from somewhere nearby, we'd like to give it a try. What are people's recommendations?

We realize Vancouver is not north enough for consistent (or even frequent) aurora sightings, and also that we'd need to get away from the city to avoid the light pollution that would make viewing northern lights impossible. Googling suggests that last November, aurora borealis was visible in the area around November 10, which was admittedly unusual, but makes me think it's not impossible. This page lists some potential viewing locations not far north of Vancouver, which suggests that one option might be to make a short trip somewhere and hope for the best.

Assuming we don't want to fly to somewhere else, but could drive or take a train, what would people suggest as our best options? (And also, scheduling and other tips would be welcome!)

posted by StrawberryPie to Travel & Transportation around Burnaby, BC (6 answers total)

Getting to see northern lights in southern British Columbia is incredibly rare. I've lived in southern BC most of my life (actually a little further north than Vancouver, with much clearer skies) and have seen some faint and fairly underwhelming northern lights only a few times. The Vancouver area is also often quite cloudy in November.

Realistically, if you want a good shot at seeing northern lights, you would want to head to northern Canada (Whitehorse is about 1.5 hours flight north). Driving from Vancouver, you are looking at least twelve hours on the road before you hit anywhere that is even somewhat likely to have northern lights. Trains from Vancouver are infrequent (twice per week, I believe) and expensive. You have some chance of seeing the northern lights in Jasper, but that's nearly a full day on the train.

Sorry to be a downer, but the northern lights just aren't a thing in most of Canada.
posted by ssg at 5:08 PM on August 5, 2023 [2 favorites]

A somewhat crude metric, but if you search r/Vancouver for "aurora" you can get a pretty good sense of how often the lights put on a decent show near the city, which looks to be about once every few months. Not impossible, but nothing you can meaningfully plan for.
posted by wreckingball at 5:52 PM on August 5, 2023

I live in Vancouver and I haven't managed to see an aurora. The newspapers occasionally post "you might be able to see the northern lights on Saturday!" type headlines, and one time some friends and I actually drove out of the city and sat around in the cold and dark, but no dice.

I have since downloaded an aurora app, which I suspect is more accurate. I have seen aurora pics taken at Spanish Banks, which is not far, but you're probably going to be waiting until 2am in case there's a break in the clouds and then *maybe* you have a chance of seeing something.

(The time we drove out of the city we went to Porteau Cove https://goo.gl/maps/bCEG9W14rBEvewF76, which seems like a decent location if you have reason to think the aurora's actually going to happen and it's not cloudy.)
posted by elizabot at 7:59 PM on August 5, 2023 [1 favorite]

Spaceweather.com has an app. I live in Southern Maine; if the KP Index is 7 or above, and it's clear, I have a great chance at seeing aurora. This is rare, and it's usually overcast, but I check. Vancouver is north by a bit. The sun has an 11 year cycle, and we seem to be approaching the maximum, so use the app and if the KP Index is 6 or higher, try to find a dark place with a good view to the north. There are some sites that will help you map dark skies; makes a real difference. NOAA has an Aurora - 30 Minute Forecast.

When I've seen the aurora, it's always been a happy accident.
posted by theora55 at 10:24 PM on August 5, 2023

I second the Spaceweather suggestion, whether website or app. It is invaluable.

I don't drive yet I have seen aurora in city from on Capitol Hill and Queen Anne in Seattle about four or five times in the last two decades. Including the incredible storm of 2004. That one I will never forget -- undulating green curtains to the north, spashing and shooting white streamers that brought to mind the telestrator splashes of old time sports casts and, most incredible of all were arc auroras which were crescents of white like drawn bows that flashed flashed flashed across the zenith with each fading fast as another flashed before. Serious aurora storms are like solar eclipses -- they are deeply moving experiences.

One caveat is Vancouver BC weather is like Seattle's. There could be an onshore flow of clouds. But then ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ what are you going do?

(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻) no doubt!

One practical in city suggestion I can make is find a friend with rooftop access in a building at least 3 stories high so you are above the streetlights. Or go where it's darkest. Like the beach south of the lighthouse in Discovery Park or on shores in front of woods -- I have seen photographs of aurora taken from Lake Washington Boulevard posted on Spaceweather or Facebook more than once this summer.

Of course if your friends have a car, get thee to the darkest sky nearby. With a wide view to the north.

And click on, enlarge and bookmark the auroral forecast window 2nd down on the left column at Spaceweather. When the oval starts glowing bright, it's time to get ready to be going that night.
posted by y2karl at 4:04 AM on August 6, 2023 [1 favorite]

I saw someone posted a video on Reddit of the (faint) aurora while hiking near Squamish, so it looks like it’s possible if you’re lucky and in a dark place.
posted by michaelhoney at 5:54 AM on August 6, 2023