Can you see the northern lights when it's cloudy?
No — you cannot see the northern lights through cloud. The aurora glows about 100 km up, high above even the tallest storm clouds, so an overcast sky sits directly between you and the light and blocks it completely. You need two things at once: a high enough Kp and a clear sky overhead.
Why clouds win every time
Clouds top out around 12 km; the aurora begins at roughly 100 km and stretches to 300 km or more. Any solid cloud layer is an opaque ceiling between you and that glow — unlike stars, the aurora can't be glimpsed through thin gaps for long because it is a diffuse curtain, not a bright point. A partly cloudy sky can still work if the breaks line up toward the pole, but full overcast means nothing gets through.
What to do on a cloudy night
Check a cloud forecast alongside the Kp, and if it's socked in, chase the gaps: drive toward clearer sky, or gain altitude above low fog and stratus. Storms often last more than one night, so a clouded-out Kp 6 can still pay off the next evening. The one thing that never helps is waiting under a solid deck.
Track the odds for your location
The Cosmik aurora forecast gives a live per-city verdict from tonight's Kp versus the Kp your latitude needs — pair it with a cloud map, and set a free alert so you only head out when a storm actually brings the aurora within reach.
Keep exploring
- Tonight's live aurora forecast
- What is the Kp index?
- Live solar activity & Kp index
- All space explainers
See it yourself tonight
Theory is better with a sky. Get the next ISS pass times over New York, London, Paris, Tokyo, Berlin or Sydney — or any of 550+ cities. Aurora hunter? Check tonight's forecast for your city.
