Northern lights forecast tonight in Minnesota
2 towns across Minnesota, each with tonight's chance from NOAA's Ovation model, updated every 15 minutes. Kp is a 0 to 9 scale of how far the lights reach from the pole, and these towns need Kp 4 to Kp 5 before your eyes pick anything up.
Best tonight
Duluth
No town in Minnesota has a measurable chance right now. That changes when a storm arrives, so check again after dark.
Duluth sits closest to the pole in Minnesota, so it needs the least: Kp 4.
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Every town in Minnesota tonight
| Town | Chance now | Your eyes need | Tonight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duluth | 0% | Kp 4 | No auroras expected right now |
| Minneapolis | 0% | Kp 5 | No auroras expected right now |
Faint aurora looks gray to your eyes and green to a phone. In Minnesota a phone picks it up from about Kp 2, and your eyes need Kp 4.
Aurora is possible in Minnesota from late August to mid-April. The sky has to be dark and clear. Clouds stop everything, and no camera gets around that.
Where people actually stand in Minnesota
Places locals and guides name, with what each one gives you. Every town below has its own page.
Duluth
Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve
9 km north-east · car
City-owned reserve land on East Skyline Parkway, high on the ridge behind Duluth. The city light dome sits below you to the south-west, and the ground falls away into unlit forest on the northern side.
Brighton Beach (Kitchi Gammi Park)
10 km north-east · car
A cobble shoreline park at the north-east end of the city where Lake Superior takes up the eastern and north-eastern sky at water level. Aurora here usually appears over the lake rather than due north, which is uphill and lit.
Boulder Lake Environmental Learning Center
30 km north · car
Thirty kilometres north of downtown, out beyond the ridge that holds Duluth's glow. The reservoir shore and the surrounding forest roads give a dark northern horizon that nowhere in the city itself can match.
Questions about the northern lights in Minnesota
Where in Minnesota is the best place tonight?
Nothing in Minnesota has a measurable chance right now. Duluth needs the least activity, Kp 4, so it is the first place to light up when a storm arrives.
What Kp do you need to see the northern lights in Minnesota?
Between Kp 4 and Kp 5, depending on how far north the town is. Kp is a 0 to 9 scale of how far the lights reach from the pole. Duluth needs the least at Kp 4.
When is the best time of year in Minnesota?
Aurora is possible from late August to mid-April, because the nights are long enough to be properly dark. A clear sky matters more than the forecast number.
Can an iPhone photograph the northern lights in Minnesota?
Yes, from about Kp 2. A phone picks up aurora that is too faint for your eyes. Rest it on something steady and give it a long exposure. What looks gray to you comes out green on the phone.
Be ready before the next storm hits.
When you're finally standing in the cold under the night you've waited years for, there are no retakes — the sky does its show once and moves on. So pack the jacket, pack the thermos, and pack the one thing that makes the night eternal: the iOS astrophotography app built for auroras. Long after the trip, you'll still have the display itself, moving, in 4K.
- ✦ Set it down and it arms itself
- ✦ 4K timelapse + a still from the session
- ✦ Aurora intelligence tunes every capture
- ✦ Tracks the aurora live — no extra app
- ✦ Apple Watch companion
- ✦ Pay once, own it forever