GoldCast · Sunset Quality Forecast
LightCast

Will the Sunset Be Good Tonight?

LightCast scores tonight's sunset from 0 to 100 using cloud layers, horizon clarity, and atmospheric conditions — for any location, updated hourly.

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The short answer

How to Know If Tonight's Sunset Is Worth Chasing

Most weather apps tell you temperature and rain probability — neither of which tells you whether golden hour will be spectacular or flat. What actually determines a good sunset is the combination of cloud cover at mid altitude, a clear gap near the horizon, low wind, and clean air. When those variables line up, you get vivid colour that spreads across the sky. When they don't, you get a generic orange fade.

LightCast GoldCast pulls all of those variables from live weather model data and combines them into a single score — 0 is stay home, 100 is drop everything and go. You can check any location for free on the web, or get push notifications automatically on iOS when tonight's score clears your threshold.

75+
Go
Strong conditions. Worth the drive.
45–74
Maybe
Partial colour likely. Check hourly.
Skip
Overcast or flat. Save the drive.
What GoldCast measures

The Four Variables That Make or Break a Sunset

⛅
Cloud Cover by Layer
Total cloud cover percentage is nearly useless. GoldCast checks low, mid, and high cloud separately. Broken mid-level cloud with a clear horizon is the setup that produces vivid colour. Thick low stratus kills it entirely.
🌅
Horizon Clarity
Direct light needs a clear gap near the horizon to enter the scene and illuminate cloud undersides from below. Even a small break between the cloud base and the horizon can produce a dramatic burst of colour.
💨
Atmospheric Transparency
Haze, humidity, smoke, and dust scatter and absorb light before it reaches peak colour temperature. Post-rain air is clearest — rain scrubs aerosols from the atmosphere, and the day after a storm often produces the most vivid golden hour of the week.
🌡️
Humidity and Moisture
High humidity without rain creates a warm, diffusive quality in the light at low sun angles. Too much and it turns to haze. GoldCast weights humidity against cloud and transparency to score the net effect on colour quality.
🔔
Stop checking manually
The LightCast iOS app monitors your saved locations and sends a push notification the moment tonight's GoldCast score hits your threshold. Set it once. Get notified when it's worth going out. $2.99/month after a 7-day free trial.

The free web tool at lightcastsuite.com/goldcast gives you the current score for any location you search. The iOS app adds saved locations, multi-day comparison, and push notifications — so you're not manually checking every evening hoping to catch something exceptional.

Common Questions
Is there an app that tells you if the sunset will be good tonight?
Yes. LightCast for iOS scores sunset quality for your saved locations and sends push notifications when conditions are worth chasing. GoldCast — the sunset scoring tool — factors in cloud layer altitude, horizon clarity, atmospheric transparency, and humidity. Download on the App Store. 7-day free trial, then $2.99/month.
What makes a sunset good or bad?
The ideal setup is 30–70% broken cloud at mid altitude (altocumulus or altostratus), a clear band near the horizon, light wind, and clean air. Completely clear skies produce warm golden light but no sky drama. Complete overcast blocks the colour entirely. The best sunsets happen when mid-level cloud catches and reflects light from below the horizon after the sun has already set.
How far in advance can you predict a good sunset?
With moderate reliability 24 to 48 hours out. Cloud type and exact cover are only reliable within that window. Broader patterns (storm systems, fronts) are readable 5–7 days out, but treat anything beyond 48 hours as a rough indicator, not a commit point. GoldCast updates hourly as forecast model data refreshes — check again an hour before golden hour for the most accurate score.
When is golden hour tonight?
Golden hour starts roughly 60 minutes before sunset and ends at sunset. The exact window depends on your latitude and time of year — at high latitudes in summer, it can stretch to 90 minutes. At tropical latitudes it can be as short as 20 minutes. GoldCast shows you the exact golden hour window for your location alongside the quality score.
Does cloud cover ruin a sunset?
Not always. Complete low cloud cover does — it blocks all direct light and produces a grey fade with no colour. But broken mid to high cloud can dramatically improve a sunset by giving the light something to reflect off. The distinction between good cloud (mid altitude, broken) and bad cloud (low, complete) is something a total cloud cover percentage can't tell you. GoldCast checks all three layers separately.
What is LightCast GoldCast?
GoldCast is LightCast's sunset and sunrise scoring tool. It scores conditions from 0 to 100 using cloud cover at low, mid, and high altitude, atmospheric transparency, horizon clarity, and humidity. It's available free on web at lightcastsuite.com/goldcast and in the LightCast iOS app with push notifications, saved locations, and multi-day comparison.
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