Cosmik
⭐ Go ProOpen the live map →
🌠 Geminids peak (~150 meteors/h) — in 104 days

Northern lights forecast — Aug 31

Live NOAA Kp index and tonight's aurora odds for your latitude, refreshed every 30 minutes.

Tonight's verdict · Forecast for tonight — Monday, August 31, 2026

Kp 3 tonight, geomagnetically quiet — the aurora stays near 54° geomagnetic latitude, so only high-latitude regions are likely to see it.

Kp now

3.33

Tonight's max

3

Storm level

—

Visible above

~54° geomag.

Next 3 nights

  • Monday: up to Kp 3
  • Tuesday: up to Kp 1.7
  • Wednesday: up to Kp 1.7

Looking further out, NOAA's 27-day outlook flags around September 25 as the next active window — up to Kp 5 (G1).

Live data: NOAA SWPC planetary K-index · updated Aug 31, 03:00 AM UTC · refreshes every 30 min.Get a free aurora alert →See live solar activityWhat is the Kp index?

🌌 Get the aurora call before you step outside

Don't miss the next aurora — we email you the moment tonight's forecast makes it worth stepping outside. Free.

Free · no account · unsubscribe anytime

✈ Telegram

Where can you see the northern lights tonight?

Tonight's activity keeps the aurora near 54° geomagnetic latitude — mostly high-latitude regions. Here's tonight's reach:

US states tonight

PlaceNeedsTonight
AlaskaKp 0🟢 Visible
North DakotaKp 2.7🟢 Visible
MaineKp 3.2🟡 On the horizon
MinnesotaKp 3.6🟡 On the horizon
VermontKp 3.8🟡 On the horizon
MontanaKp 3.9🟡 On the horizon
New HampshireKp 3.9🟡 On the horizon
South DakotaKp 4.3🟡 On the horizon
WashingtonKp 4.3🟡 On the horizon
WisconsinKp 4.4⚪ Not tonight
MichiganKp 4.9⚪ Not tonight
IllinoisKp 5⚪ Not tonight
IdahoKp 5.1⚪ Not tonight
IowaKp 5.2⚪ Not tonight
OregonKp 5.3⚪ Not tonight
PennsylvaniaKp 5.3⚪ Not tonight
WyomingKp 5.4⚪ Not tonight
MassachusettsKp 5.7⚪ Not tonight
IndianaKp 6.1⚪ Not tonight
OhioKp 6.1⚪ Not tonight
New YorkKp 6.3⚪ Not tonight
ColoradoKp 6.6⚪ Not tonight
UtahKp 6.7⚪ Not tonight
California>9⚪ Not tonight
Texas>9⚪ Not tonight
Aurora forecast for every US state

Around the world tonight

PlaceNeedsTonight
CanadaKp 0🟢 Visible
IcelandKp 0🟢 Visible
NorwayKp 0🟢 Visible
FinlandKp 2🟢 Visible
IrelandKp 2.3🟢 Visible
SwedenKp 2.5🟢 Visible
ScotlandKp 3.5🟡 On the horizon
New Zealand (South)Kp 5.7⚪ Not tonight
TasmaniaKp 5.7⚪ Not tonight
GermanyKp 6.3⚪ Not tonight

Live city forecasts: Fairbanks · Anchorage · Reykjavík · Tromsø · Seattle · Sioux Falls · Chicago · Boston · Washington, D.C. · San Diego

Get YOUR location's aurora forecast:Get a free aurora alert →Find my location →

Your city's odds

Aurora visibility depends on geomagnetic latitude, not just how far north you live. Each city page shows the Kp it needs, tonight's live odds, and exactly how to look.

🟢 In the auroral zone — visible on many active nights (70 cities)

🟡 Visible during moderate-to-strong storms (Kp 4–6) (101 cities)

🟠 Severe storms only (Kp 7–9) (139 cities)

🔵 Effectively outside aurora range (372 cities)

Your city isn't listed? The in-app sky view shows live conditions for any location on Earth. Open the sky view →

Northern lights questions, answered

Can I see the northern lights tonight?

Only from high latitudes tonight — the forecast peaks at Kp 3, so the aurora stays near 54° geomagnetic latitude. Set a free alert and we'll tell you the moment a storm changes that.

What time can I see the northern lights tonight?

Aim for the dark hours around local midnight — roughly 22:00 to 02:00 — when the sky is darkest and geomagnetic activity tends to peak. Tonight's best odds are above ~54° geomagnetic latitude.

When is the best time to see the northern lights?

Between about 22:00 and 02:00 local time, on a dark clear night away from city lights. Activity often peaks near magnetic midnight, and the weeks around the March and September equinoxes are statistically the most active.

How do you see the northern lights?

Get away from city lights with a clear view toward the north (south in the southern hemisphere), let your eyes adapt for 15–20 minutes, and look low on the horizon. A phone on night mode with a 5–10 second exposure reveals green and red glow your eyes can't see.

What is the NOAA aurora forecast?

NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center publishes the planetary Kp index and a 3-day geomagnetic forecast from live solar-wind data. This page reads that feed and translates it into a visibility verdict for each latitude — that's the number in the table above.

What is the Kp index?

The Kp index rates global geomagnetic disturbance from 0 (quiet) to 9 (extreme storm). Each step pushes the auroral oval about 2° of latitude toward the equator, so a higher Kp means the northern lights are visible farther south.

Is there a northern lights forecast for my zip code?

Yes — pick your city from the list on this page, or set a free alert and we'll email you the moment a storm brings the aurora within reach of your exact location.

Get a free aurora alert →

How long do the northern lights last?

A geomagnetic storm can last anywhere from an hour to a few nights. Within a night the aurora arrives in waves — substorms that brighten for 10–30 minutes, fade, and return — so if the sky goes quiet it's usually worth waiting.

Can you see the northern lights when it's cloudy?

No — the aurora forms about 100 km up, well above the clouds, so an overcast sky blocks it completely. You need both a clear sky and a high enough Kp, so check a cloud forecast alongside the numbers on this page.

What about the aurora australis (southern lights)?

The same storms light up the southern sky. From southern Chile and Argentina, New Zealand's South Island, Tasmania and Antarctica, look toward the south — and the southern-hemisphere winter (May–August) brings the darkest, longest nights for it.

How this forecast works

The Kp index measures global geomagnetic disturbance on a 0–9 scale, published by NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center. The auroral oval sits near 66° geomagnetic latitude when quiet and pushes ~2° toward the equator per Kp step — which is how a Kp 8 superstorm (like May 2024) puts the northern lights over Spain and Texas. Cosmik combines the live index, the 24h forecast and each city's geomagnetic latitude into the odds you see on every page. We're at solar maximum right now — the storm-richest years of the 11-year cycle.

✦ Premium

Cosmik Pro

When clouds kill the pass, Pro tells you where nearby the sky WILL be clear — and how far. Plus your own alert timing, several locations, every visible pass instead of just the next one, and no ads.

or pay now

🔒 Secure checkout by Stripe · 14-day money-back · cancel anytime

Gear worth looking up with

Celestron SkyMaster 15×70Binoculars

Celestron SkyMaster 15×70

The big-aperture classic: ISS passes, Moon craters, star clusters.

≈ $90Amazon →
Celestron NexStar 130SLTTelescope · GoTo

Celestron NexStar 130SLT

Finds 4,000 objects for you. The best-selling first serious scope.

≈ $480Amazon →
Gskyer 70mm AZStarter scope

Gskyer 70mm AZ

Light, simple, kid-proof — Moon & planets from a balcony.

≈ $100Amazon →
ISO 12312-2 eclipse glassesEclipse · Aug 12

ISO 12312-2 eclipse glasses

Certified solar viewers — the only safe way to watch the eclipse.

≈ $15 /5-packAmazon →

As an Amazon Associate, Cosmik earns from qualifying purchases. Prices indicative. Glasses photo CC BY-SA (Wikimedia Commons).