Tonight
Oct 28 - Oct 29
- 1 °C
0 percent cloud cover - 1 °C4 percent cloud cover
- 0 °C1 percent cloud cover
Northern Lights Forecast for Quebec City
Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
46°48′50.0″N ⋅ 71°12′29.5″W
Aurora data last updated at
Current local time:
Can you see the Northern Lights in Quebec City tonight?
No significant aurora activity is expected in Quebec City over the next 24 hours. Sky will be dark from 6:42 PM to 6:15 AM local time. Cloud cover around that time looks overcast at around 95%.
Aurora Forecast for Quebec City
Today at 2:00 PM
No activity
Cloud Cover:95%
Aurora activity
High clouds
Middle clouds
Low clouds
Fog
Aurora activity
High clouds
Middle clouds
Low clouds
Fog
Hourly aurora forecast for Quebec City
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3-Night Weather Forecast for Quebec City
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Tomorrow night
Oct 29 - Oct 30
- 13 °C
99 percent cloud cover - 11 °C
95 percent cloud cover - 11 °C100 percent cloud cover
Friday night
Oct 30 - Oct 31
- 5 °C
16 percent cloud cover - 3 °C16 percent cloud cover
- 3 °C16 percent cloud cover
Sun & Moon
Sunset
Sunrise
Dark from 06:42 PM to 06:15 AM (11 h 33 min)
Current Moon
Waning Gibbous
91% illumination
Refresh to load today's sun path.
Long-Term Aurora Forecast for Quebec City
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wednesday, October 28, 2026. Today. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Waning gibbous, 92% illumination | Thursday, October 29, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Waning gibbous, 85% illumination | Friday, October 30, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Waning gibbous, 76% illumination | Saturday, October 31, 2026. Low aurora activity. Aurora score 1 out of 10. Last quarter, 65% illumination | Sunday, November 1, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Last quarter, 54% illumination | ||
Monday, November 2, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Last quarter, 43% illumination | Tuesday, November 3, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Last quarter, 32% illumination | Wednesday, November 4, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Waning crescent, 23% illumination | Thursday, November 5, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Waning crescent, 14% illumination | Friday, November 6, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Waning crescent, 8% illumination | Saturday, November 7, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. New moon, 3% illumination | Sunday, November 8, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. New moon, 1% illumination |
Monday, November 9, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. New moon, 0% illumination | Tuesday, November 10, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. New moon, 2% illumination | Wednesday, November 11, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Waxing crescent, 5% illumination | Thursday, November 12, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Waxing crescent, 10% illumination | Friday, November 13, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Waxing crescent, 16% illumination | Saturday, November 14, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Waxing crescent, 23% illumination | Sunday, November 15, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. First quarter, 32% illumination |
Monday, November 16, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. First quarter, 41% illumination | Tuesday, November 17, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. First quarter, 50% illumination | Wednesday, November 18, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. First quarter, 60% illumination | Thursday, November 19, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Waxing gibbous, 70% illumination | Friday, November 20, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Waxing gibbous, 79% illumination | Saturday, November 21, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Waxing gibbous, 87% illumination | Sunday, November 22, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Waxing gibbous, 94% illumination |
Monday, November 23, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Full moon, 98% illumination | Tuesday, November 24, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Full moon, 100% illumination |
LowAurora ActivityHigh
Best Time to See the Northern Lights in Quebec City
The nights in Quebec City are dark all year. The aurora is rare in Quebec City: your best chances are in October.
- Dark hours
- Chance of aurora
Long-term averages for clear nights, since 1985. Geomagnetic data: GFZ, CC BY 4.0
Every night of 2026 in Quebec City, January at the top: how long it's dark, and the chance of aurora on a clear night.
Northern Lights in Quebec City
Quebec City is the capital of Quebec, its old town set on the cliffs of Cap Diamant above the St. Lawrence at 46.8°N, about 250 km downriver from Montreal. The aurora shows here only during geomagnetic storms. A faint glow low in the north can appear with a weaker one, but a display that rises clear of the city’s lights needs about a G2 moderate storm. Cloud is the other obstacle: November, the greyest month, gets about half the sunshine of March.
Île d’Orléans and the chemin Royal
The bridge from Beauport leads onto an island that is still mostly farmland, with the chemin Royal running round the shore. Sainte-Famille, on the north side about 30 km from Old Quebec, looks north-west across the channel to the Côte-de-Beaupré. Saint-François at the eastern tip, about 45 km away, puts the city’s glow behind you.
The Jacques-Cartier valley
Parc national de la Jacques-Cartier is about 50 km north off Route 175, and much darker. Its glacial valley is 550 m deep and runs roughly north to south, so from the valley floor you see the low northern sky only straight up the valley.
Vieux-Lévis, looking back at Old Quebec
The waterfront faces Old Quebec across the river, so the northern sky is above the city’s lights. It works only for a bright display. Photos from big storms have come from Vieux-Lévis and from Beauport on the north shore, and where the sky looks pale to the eye a phone in night mode picks up the colour. See how to photograph the aurora with an iPhone.
FAQ
Where in Quebec City have people photographed the northern lights?
In big storms, La Presse has published readers' photos from Beauport, on the north shore east of Old Quebec, and from Vieux-Lévis, on the south shore across the river. Both sit inside the city's glow, so it takes a bright display. For a darker horizon, Île d'Orléans starts about 5 km east of downtown, and Parc national de la Jacques-Cartier is about 50 km north.
Where on Île d'Orléans should you look for the northern lights?
Sainte-Famille on the north shore, or Saint-François at the eastern tip. The island starts about 5 km east of downtown, across the bridge from Beauport, and is 34 km long and mostly farmland. Follow the chemin Royal to Sainte-Famille, which looks across the channel to the Côte-de-Beaupré, or to Saint-François, about 45 km from Old Quebec, where the city's glow is behind you.
What is the Aurora Borealis at the Old Port of Quebec City?
It is a light installation, not the sky. The Bunge grain silos in the Old Port are lit up every night as an illuminated sculpture called Aurora Borealis. The real aurora reaches Quebec City only during geomagnetic storms, and you see far more of it from the dark farmland of Île d'Orléans than from the lit-up waterfront.
Which months have the clearest skies for aurora watching in Quebec City?
September and late winter. At Jean Lesage International Airport the sun shines for about 43% of the possible hours in September and about 42% from February to April, against 27% in November and 31% in December. February, when the Carnaval de Québec runs, combines long nights with clearer weather than early winter. November is the greyest month.
Can you see the northern lights in Quebec City in summer?
Yes. The nights in Quebec City are dark all year, so the aurora can show in summer too when it reaches this far south.
What Kp index do I need to see the northern lights in Quebec City?
In Quebec City, you usually need at least Kp 6 to have a reasonable chance of seeing the northern lights. Lower Kp can still bring a faint aurora display low on the northern horizon, but it is less common.
This is based on magnetic latitude, and Kp index is a global geomagnetic index, so treat it as a rule of thumb, not a location-specific guarantee.
Tonight, the NOAA Kp index forecast is 1.3 to 1.7. That is below the usual Kp index threshold for Quebec City, so seeing the aurora is unlikely.