Tonight
Oct 28 - Oct 29
- 56 °F
74 percent cloud cover - 52 °F
0 percent cloud cover - 47 °F0 percent cloud cover
Northern Lights Forecast for Duluth
Duluth, Minnesota, United States
46°47′12.1″N ⋅ 92°6′1.8″W
Aurora data last updated at
Current local time:
Can you see the Northern Lights in Duluth tonight?
No significant aurora activity is expected in Duluth over the next 24 hours. Sky will be dark from 7:05 PM to 6:39 AM local time. Cloud cover around that time looks overcast at around 100%.
Aurora Forecast for Duluth, MN
Today at 1:00 PM
No activity
Cloud Cover:100%
Aurora activity
High clouds
Middle clouds
Low clouds
Fog
Aurora activity
High clouds
Middle clouds
Low clouds
Fog
Hourly aurora forecast for Duluth
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3-Night Weather Forecast for Duluth, MN
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Tomorrow night
Oct 29 - Oct 30
- 42 °F
25 percent cloud cover - 42 °F81 percent cloud cover
- 42 °F79 percent cloud cover
Friday night
Oct 30 - Oct 31
- 45 °F2 percent cloud cover
- 44 °F0 percent cloud cover
- 44 °F20 percent cloud cover
Sun & Moon
Sunset
Sunrise
Dark from 07:05 PM to 06:39 AM (11 h 34 min)
Current Moon
Waning Gibbous
91% illumination
Refresh to load today's sun path.
Long-Term Aurora Forecast for Duluth, MN
| 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 Duluth
The nights in Duluth are dark all year. The aurora is rare in Duluth: 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 Duluth, January at the top: how long it's dark, and the chance of aurora on a clear night.
Northern Lights in Duluth
Duluth sits at 46.8°N at the western tip of Lake Superior, about 150 miles north-east of Minneapolis, with 87,000 people strung along a hillside above the lake. It sees the aurora on many more nights a year than the Twin Cities.
For color overhead it takes about a G2 moderate geomagnetic storm, around Kp 6. One step down, a green or red glow often sits low in the north, and a fainter glow shows on plenty of quieter nights. Phone cameras in night mode record color the eye does not, so a sky that looks gray to you can come out pink and green in the photo; see how to photograph the aurora with an iPhone.
Looking up the lake, not due north
The lake lies south-east of the city and the shore runs south-west to north-east, so from the water’s edge you look north-east up the lake rather than due north.
- Brighton Beach (Kitchi Gammi Park) by the Lester River, on the way out to the North Shore. Close to town and affected by the city’s lights, but the Duluth News Tribune has photographed the aurora from here.
- Park Point, the seven-mile sandbar across the harbor mouth. The aurora has been photographed from the Park Point Recreation Area.
- Stoney Point, about 10 miles up Scenic 61 with the city’s glow behind you.
Boulder Lake and the North Shore parks
For a northern horizon away from the shore, the Boulder Lake public access is about 20 miles due north, a 35-minute drive inland.
Gooseberry Falls and Split Rock Lighthouse state parks are about 40 and 45 miles up the shore past Two Harbors, 45 minutes to an hour.
Astro Bob and MPR’s reader galleries
Bob King, who writes the Astro Bob astronomy column for the Duluth News Tribune, writes up the big displays he photographs around Duluth. MPR News runs reader photo galleries after big nights.
FAQ
Can you see the northern lights from Duluth?
Yes, and more often than from the Twin Cities. In the strongest storms it has been photographed in and around the city, including from Park Point. On a quieter night it shows as a glow low in the north, so drive a few miles up Scenic 61 to Stoney Point or inland to Boulder Lake to get the city's lights behind you.
Which direction do you look for the northern lights on the Lake Superior shore at Duluth?
North-east, up the lake. Lake Superior lies south-east of Duluth and the shore runs south-west to north-east, so from Brighton Beach or Stoney Point the open water is off to your right and the dark horizon is up the shore, not due north. A strong display still fills the northern sky. For a true northern horizon, go inland to Boulder Lake, about 20 miles north.
Can you see the northern lights from Split Rock Lighthouse?
Yes. Split Rock Lighthouse State Park is about 45 miles up the North Shore from Duluth, roughly an hour's drive past Two Harbors, with four miles of rocky Lake Superior shoreline. Gooseberry Falls State Park, a few miles closer to Duluth, is the other option on the same road.
Where do aurora photographers in Duluth share their sightings?
Bob King, who writes the Astro Bob astronomy column for the Duluth News Tribune, photographs the big displays around Duluth, including from the Boulder Lake area north of the city, and writes them up in his column. MPR News runs reader photo galleries after big nights, and Duluth and Park Point have turned up in them.
When is the best time to see the northern lights in Duluth?
The nights in Duluth are dark all year. The aurora is rare in Duluth: your best chances are in October. The longest nights, around 21 December, have about 13 hours of darkness.
Can you see the northern lights in Duluth in summer?
Yes. The nights in Duluth 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 Duluth?
In Duluth, 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 Duluth, so seeing the aurora is unlikely.