Can I See the Northern Lights Tonight?

Enter your ZIP above. The verdict compares NOAA's planetary Kp forecast for tonight with the Kp your location needs (from its geomagnetic latitude), then adjusts for tonight's cloud cover, the moon, and how many hours of full darkness you have. "Possible" or better with under 40% cloud is worth going out for; "Unlikely" is not.

It depends on geomagnetic latitude, not just map latitude. Northern Alaska: Kp 1–2. North Dakota, Minnesota, Montana, Maine: about Kp 4. Michigan, Wisconsin, Washington, Vermont: Kp 5. New York, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Iowa: Kp 6. Most mid-latitude states: Kp 7. The South, Texas, the Southwest: Kp 8–9. Those are for a display low on the northern horizon from a dark site.

Between about 10 pm and 2 am local time, with the strongest bursts often near local midnight. Displays come in waves — stay at least an hour, and keep your eyes dark-adapted (no phone screen, red light only).

Anywhere with a dark, unobstructed view to the north, 30+ miles from city glow: a north-facing lakeshore, open farmland, a ridge or summit road. Your state page (linked in the result) lists the best specific sites with coordinates.

Kp is a three-hour planetary average — activity pulses within it. Light pollution, a bright moon, thin high cloud, or looking too high in the sky (the display sits low in the north at mid-latitudes) are the usual culprits. Take a 10-second night-mode phone photo facing north; if there is a green or red tint, it is there.

Good for the next 24 hours when a storm is already underway or a coronal mass ejection has been observed leaving the Sun; rougher beyond that. Sudden arrivals happen — the best practice on an active night is to re-check every couple of hours. This page reads NOAA live each time you load it.