Is there a northern lights forecast by zip code?

Better: the "Near me" button uses your exact position, which is more precise than any zip-code table. Your browser will ask for permission once, and the verdict is computed for your coordinates, not a city 50 miles away.

What Kp index do I need to see the aurora?

It depends entirely on your latitude: Fairbanks needs almost none, Minneapolis needs around Kp 6, and southern England needs a rare Kp 8 to 9 storm. That is why we never show you a bare Kp number without translating it for your location.

Why did I miss the aurora even though an app sent a high Kp alert?

Kp is a global, three-hour, backward-looking average, so a high value can describe activity that already ended or that is centered over another continent. Clouds, twilight, and moonlight also block sightings that Kp alone would predict. Our verdict checks all of those before saying yes.

Will I see the aurora with my eyes, or only on camera?

At mid-latitudes many displays are camera-only: a long exposure shows green and red while your eyes see a gray glow. Our verdict has a separate "camera only" tier so you know what to expect before you drive out.

Live aurora forecast

Can you see the northern lights tonight?

One plain answer for your exact location: activity, clouds, darkness, and light pollution combined. No Kp charts to decode.

Planetary activity right now: Kp 0.7

Tonight's best odds

Live verdicts for the classic aurora destinations and hotspots.

Fairbanks

Alaska, United States

Off season

Minneapolis

Minnesota, United States

All locations

Michigan Minnesota Washington State Fairbanks Seattle Minneapolis the UK Scotland Tromsø Reykjavik

A forecast that answers the actual question

Most aurora sites hand you a Kp index and a map of the polar regions, then leave the hard part to you. But Kp is a global, three-hour, backward-looking average: it does not know your latitude, your clouds, your twilight, or your moon. That gap is why so many people drive out on a "Kp 7" alert and see nothing, and why others sleep through a display happening over their house.

This checker translates the same NOAA space weather data everyone uses into a decision for one place: yours. We compare forecast activity against the level your latitude actually needs, layer in hourly cloud cover, compute real darkness from the sun's position (which is also why we will honestly tell you when it is simply the wrong season), and account for moonlight and light pollution. The result is one of three answers: not tonight, camera only, or yes, naked eye, with an hourly timeline so you know when to step outside.