Massachusetts, United StatesMagnetic latitude 50.1°Population 29,78116 m above sea level
Can you see the northern lights in Gloucester, Massachusetts?
From Gloucester the aurora is seen only during geomagnetic storms (about Kp 6 or more), usually as a glow low in the north-north-west. Cameras often pick it up before the eye does. Since 1995 that level (Kp 6) was reached during darkness here on 225 nights.
Right now
It is still light here. Darkness starts at 18:58.
Latest measured half-hour activity worldwide: Hp30 2.
Updates every minute while this page is open. Ground data: GFZ Potsdam Hp30 index (CC BY 4.0).
Tonight in one minute
Not tonight
- Solar activity Too weak: Kp 2.7 expected, 6 needed here.
- Sky Mostly clear (8% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 18:58 to 05:58.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
- Detailed forecast Sat 17 2.7 No · Kp 2.7
- Sun 18 2 No · Kp 2
- 27-day trend Mon 19 2 No · Kp 2
- Tue 20 3 No · Kp 3
- Wed 21 4 No · Kp 4
- Thu 22 4 No · Kp 4
- Fri 23 4 No · Kp 4
- Sat 24 3 No · Kp 3
- Sun 25 2 No · Kp 2
- Mon 26 2 No · Kp 2
- Tue 27 2 No · Kp 2
- Wed 28 2 No · Kp 2
- Thu 29 2 No · Kp 2
- Fri 30 5 Photos only · Kp 5
- Sat 31 5 Photos only · Kp 5
- Sun 1 5 Photos only · Kp 5
- Mon 2 3 No · Kp 3
- Tue 3 2 No · Kp 2
- Wed 4 2 No · Kp 2
- Thu 5 3 No · Kp 3
- Fri 6 3 No · Kp 3
- Sat 7 3 No · Kp 3
Friday 30 October — Photos only · Kp 5 · best around 23:30 · No cloud forecast this far ahead; in October about 60% of nights are clear here. · Reliability: low (rough trend)
Each box is one night: the colour shows the chance, the number the expected Kp. Tap a night for details.
📅 Add these nights to your calendar — it updates itself (.ics)
How far ahead can the northern lights be forecast?
- Minutes to an hour: satellites 1.5 million km away measure the solar wind before it reaches Earth. This is the surest warning — the “Right now” box uses it.
- 1–3 days: when the Sun throws out a cloud of particles, it takes one to three days to arrive. NOAA's 3-hourly forecast covers these nights; the timing can still be off by a few hours.
- 4–27 days: the Sun turns once every 27 days, and regions that disturbed Earth's field last time often do it again. NOAA's 27-day outlook gives this rough trend — new eruptions are not in it yet.
Tonight
Updated 14:36 local time
Unlikely
Best around 18:00. Forecast max Kp 2.7 (this place needs 6), average cloud 8%.
- Dark enough
- 18:58 – 05:58
- Sunset
- 17:57 · sunrise 06:59
- Moon
- 42% · ↑ 13:49 · ↓ 22:34
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 6
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 4.3 (a red glow low in the north-north-west).
- Look towards
- north-north-west (346°)
Cloud layers and weather
Low cloud blocks the aurora completely. Thin high cloud often still lets a bright aurora shine through, so a sky with only high cloud is worth a look.
| Time | Sat, 19 | Sat, 22 | Sun, 01 | Sun, 04 | Sun, 20 | Sun, 23 | Mon, 02 | Mon, 05 | Mon, 21 | Tue, 00 | Tue, 03 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 3% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Mid cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 35% | 100% | 100% |
| High cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Temperature | 6 °C | 4 °C | 3 °C | 2 °C | 8 °C | 8 °C | 8 °C | 7 °C | 11 °C | 11 °C | 11 °C |
| Feels like | 0 °C | 0 °C | -1 °C | -2 °C | 4 °C | 4 °C | 5 °C | 5 °C | 6 °C | 6 °C | 6 °C |
| Wind | 5 m/s | 4 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 0 m/s | 7 m/s | 8 m/s | 9 m/s |
| Visibility | 38 km | 30 km | 23 km | 20 km | 36 km | 28 km | 27 km | 22 km | 24 km | 24 km | 24 km |
Cloud layers and weather: Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0).
Score = activity (NOAA Kp and OVATION) × clear sky (MET Norway) × darkness × moonlight. Methodology
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What you would see from Gloucester
Facing north-north-west. Bands show where the aurora sits at two activity levels.
| Kp | What you see | Lower edge | Ray tops | Distance to the aurora |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Below the horizon | -2° | 2° | 1,379 km |
| 3 | Below the horizon | 0° | 4° | 1,156 km |
| 4 | Below the horizon | 2° | 8° | 934 km |
| 5 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 5° | 12° | 712 km |
| 6 | Visible to the north-north-west | 10° | 20° | 489 km |
| 7 | Visible to the north-north-west | 20° | 35° | 267 km |
| 8 | Visible to the north-north-west | 67° | 77° | 44 km |
| 9 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
The Kp scale in plain words
Kp is a 0–9 score for how strongly the Earth's magnetic field is being shaken by the solar wind. The higher it goes, the further from the poles the northern lights reach. Kp 0–2 is a quiet night; Kp 5 and above is a geomagnetic storm.
- Kp 0–2 Quiet Only under the auroral oval: northern Norway, Swedish and Finnish Lapland, Iceland, Alaska, northern Canada.
- Kp 3 Unsettled next 24 h Bright in the Arctic; low on the horizon in central Scandinavia and southern Iceland.
- Kp 4 Active camera in Gloucester Overhead in the Arctic; low in the north from southern Norway, Sweden, Finland and northern Scotland.
- Kp 5 Minor storm (G1) Scotland, southern Scandinavia, the Baltic states, the northern US states and southern Canada.
- Kp 6 Moderate storm (G2) eye in Gloucester Northern England, Denmark, northern Germany and Poland, the US Midwest — often clearer in photos than to the eye.
- Kp 7 Strong storm (G3) Most of the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Czechia; red glow in photos from France and the northern Alps.
- Kp 8 Severe storm (G4) Central Europe to the eye; red sky in photos from northern Italy, Spain, the Balkans and Turkey's Black Sea coast.
- Kp 9 Extreme storm (G5) Seen across Europe and the US; in photos as far south as the Mediterranean, Turkey and North Africa (May 2024).
Light pollution
Bright suburban sky. Strong sky glow washes out faint aurora. Head out of town for anything but a bright display.
Estimate from NASA VIIRS night-light data (sky-glow model within 50 km). Check access and private land before you go.
Hills and mountains
The horizon towards the north-north-west is open (terrain below 0.7°), so low aurora is not blocked.
From elevation data (AWS Terrain Tiles) along seven lines of sight up to 30 km.
Best months to see the aurora in Gloucester
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
September has been the best month (2% of nights), followed by June (1%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 2% | 71% | 9.3 h | 12° / 23°C |
| October | 1% | 60% | 10.9 h | 6° / 16°C |
| November | 0.5% | 64% | 12.0 h | 0° / 9°C |
| December | 0.6% | 52% | 12.6 h | -5° / 3°C |
| January | 0.6% | 54% | 12.3 h | -9° / 0°C |
| February | 0.2% | 58% | 11.1 h | -9° / 1°C |
| March | 0.8% | 62% | 9.9 h | -4° / 6°C |
| April | 0.3% | 56% | 8.4 h | 2° / 13°C |
Aurora nights in Gloucester since 1995
Nights when Kp reached 6 or more while it was dark here.
Most recent strong nights
- 3 July 2026 · Kp 7.0
- 20 March 2026 · Kp 7.0
- 13 March 2026 · Kp 6.0
- 20 January 2026 · Kp 7.7
- 19 January 2026 · Kp 8.7
- 10 December 2025 · Kp 6.0
- 12 November 2025 · Kp 7.3
- 11 November 2025 · Kp 8.7
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) · 40 km
- Typical low / high in September
- 12° / 23°C
- What to wear
- Cool nights: layers, a windproof jacket, hat and gloves for standing still outside. Full clothing guide
- Emergency number
- 911
- Winter driving
- Tyre and chain rules are set at state level; check Alaska 511 (511.alaska.gov, Alaska DOT&PF) for Alaska roads, or the relevant state's 511 service elsewhere. Road conditions
- Access to land
- There is no general right to roam; trespass law is set by each state, so stay on public land (national parks, national forests, BLM land) or get the landowner's permission, and follow each park's night-time and parking rules.
- Official space-weather service
- NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center (aurora dashboard)
- Weather service
- National Weather Service (NOAA)
Questions and answers
What Kp do you need to see the aurora in Gloucester?
From Gloucester the aurora is seen only during geomagnetic storms (about Kp 6 or more), usually as a glow low in the north-north-west. Cameras often pick it up before the eye does.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Gloucester?
Face north-north-west (about 346° from true north). At Kp 6 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 10° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
What is the best month to see the aurora in Gloucester?
Over 2005–2025, September gave the best odds in Gloucester (2% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by June (1%).
When is the aurora season in Gloucester?
Gloucester gets dark enough for the aurora all year round, though the long winter nights give the most hours to watch.
Is there much light pollution in Gloucester?
Strong sky glow washes out faint aurora. Head out of town for anything but a bright display.
When was the aurora last possible in Gloucester?
The most recent night in our data when activity reached the level Gloucester needs, during darkness, was 3 July 2026 (Kp 7.0). It has happened on 225 nights since 1995.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Gloucester share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- East Gloucester 1 km
- Five Pound Island 1 km
- Rocky Neck 1 km
- Bass Rocks 2 km
- Dogtown Commons 2 km
- City of Gloucester 2 km
- Riverdale 2 km
- Riverview 2 km
- Freshwater Cove Village 3 km
- Riverdale Station 3 km
- Riverview Landing 3 km
- West Gloucester 4 km
- Annisquam 5 km
- Bay View 6 km
- Magnolia 6 km