Live Aurora Outlook
Northern Lights Tonight
Live Forecast by State
One live Kp index, 21 state thresholds. Find your state, see tonight's answer — updated hourly from NOAA and GFZ Potsdam data.
Can you see the northern lights tonight?
Quiet night — aurora stays near the Arctic
The Kp index is currently 0. Outside Alaska and the auroral zone, tonight is unlikely. Each state page below shows the Kp it needs — and a free Kp storm alert tells you the moment the odds change.
Pick Your State
Tonight's Outlook, State by State
Each threshold is the approximate Kp at which aurora becomes visible low on the northern horizon from the state's darkest viable areas, per NOAA SWPC view-line estimates.
Needs ~Kp 1+ · borderline tonight
Needs ~Kp 5+ · quiet for now
Needs ~Kp 5+ · quiet for now
Needs ~Kp 5+ · quiet for now
Needs ~Kp 5+ · quiet for now
Needs ~Kp 6+ · quiet for now
Needs ~Kp 5+ · quiet for now
Needs ~Kp 5+ · quiet for now
Needs ~Kp 5+ · quiet for now
Needs ~Kp 6+ · quiet for now
Needs ~Kp 7+ · quiet for now
Needs ~Kp 7+ · quiet for now
Needs ~Kp 6+ · quiet for now
Needs ~Kp 6+ · quiet for now
Needs ~Kp 6+ · quiet for now
Needs ~Kp 5+ · quiet for now
Needs ~Kp 7+ · quiet for now
Needs ~Kp 7+ · quiet for now
Needs ~Kp 6+ · quiet for now
Needs ~Kp 7+ · quiet for now
Needs ~Kp 8+ · quiet for now
Not in the US? The same Kp thresholds apply by geomagnetic latitude — see the full aurora forecast guide for how to translate them.
Common Questions
Northern Lights Tonight: FAQ
Can you see the northern lights tonight?
It depends on tonight's Kp index and your latitude. Below Kp 4, aurora stays near the Arctic (Alaska, northern Canada, Iceland, Scandinavia). At Kp 5–6 it can reach northern-tier US states like Montana, Minnesota, Michigan, and Maine. At Kp 7+ it pushes into the mid-latitudes. This page compares the live Kp against each state's threshold.
Which US states can see the northern lights most often?
Alaska by a wide margin — it sits under the auroral oval and sees aurora at Kp 1. Among the lower 48, the most reliable are the northern-tier states on NOAA's Kp 5 view line: Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin (far north), Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Washington, and Maine.
What time should I look for the northern lights?
Between 10 PM and 2 AM local time, centered on local midnight, when your location rotates under the densest part of the auroral oval. September through March offers the darkest skies at aurora latitudes.
How do I get alerted when aurora is possible in my state?
Aurora visibility is driven by the Kp index, so a Kp storm alert works as an aurora heads-up. The ResonanceOne app sends free push notifications when the Kp index reaches geomagnetic storm level (Kp 5+) — the threshold at which northern-tier states come into play. ResonanceOne has no aurora map; it tracks the underlying geomagnetic signal.
The aurora won't email you.
A Kp alert will.
ResonanceOne sends free push alerts when the Kp index reaches geomagnetic storm level — the same threshold at which the northern lights come into play. Kp, solar flares, and Schumann Resonance in one calm Activity Index.