Minnesota, United StatesMagnetic latitude 56.9°Population 1,327188 m above sea level
Northern lights in Grand Marais
From Grand Marais the aurora is visible on most active nights — first low to the north, from about Kp 2.7.
Right now
It is still light here. Darkness starts at 19:17.
Updates every minute while this page is open.
Tonight in one minute
Only in photos, if at all
- Solar activity Enough for a camera: Kp 1.7 expected, 1 needed for photos, 2.7 for the eye.
- Sky Partly cloudy (51% cloud) — look for gaps.
- Darkness Dark from 19:17 to 06:16.
What to do: Point a phone in night mode north (3–10 s exposure). A red or green glow often shows on the screen before you can see it.
- Detailed forecast Fri 16 1.7 Photos only · Kp 1.7
- Sat 17 1.7 Photos only · Kp 1.7
- 27-day trend Sun 18 2 Unlikely · Kp 2
- Mon 19 2 Photos only · Kp 2
- Tue 20 3 Good chance · Kp 3
- Wed 21 4 Good chance · Kp 4
- Thu 22 4 Possible · Kp 4
- Fri 23 3 Possible · Kp 3
- Sat 24 2 Unlikely · Kp 2
- Sun 25 2 Photos only · Kp 2
- Mon 26 2 Photos only · Kp 2
- Tue 27 2 Photos only · Kp 2
- Wed 28 2 Photos only · Kp 2
- Thu 29 2 Photos only · Kp 2
- Fri 30 5 Good chance · Kp 5
- Sat 31 5 Good chance · Kp 5
- Sun 1 5 Possible · Kp 5
- Mon 2 3 Possible · Kp 3
- Tue 3 2 Unlikely · Kp 2
- Wed 4 2 Unlikely · Kp 2
- Thu 5 3 Possible · Kp 3
- Fri 6 3 Possible · Kp 3
- Sat 7 3 Possible · Kp 3
Wednesday 21 October — Good chance · Kp 3 · best around 00:00 · Forecast cloud: 10%. · 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 08:45 local time
Possible
Best around 19:00. Forecast max Kp 1.7 (this place needs 2.7), average cloud 51%.
- Dark enough
- 19:17 – 06:16
- Sunset
- 18:10 · sunrise 07:23
- Moon
- 31% · ↑ 13:54 · ↓ 21:29
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 2.7
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 1 (a red glow low in the north).
- Look towards
- north (0°)
Clearer skies nearby tonight
Forecast cloud during tonight's darkness: 51% here. The clearest option within 100 km is about 100 km to the west, with 9%. Open in OpenStreetMap
MET Norway forecast at 24 points within 100 km, averaged over the dark hours. Check roads and conditions before driving.
Score = activity (NOAA Kp and OVATION) × clear sky (MET Norway) × darkness × moonlight. Methodology
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What you would see from Grand Marais
Facing north. Bands show where the aurora sits at two activity levels.
| Kp | What you see | Lower edge | Ray tops | Distance to the aurora |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 7° | 15° | 623 km |
| 3 | Visible to the north | 13° | 24° | 400 km |
| 4 | Visible to the north | 30° | 47° | 178 km |
| 5 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 6 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 7 | Overhead, and also to the south | – | – | – |
| 8 | Overhead, and also to the south | – | – | – |
| 9 | Overhead, and also to the south | – | – | – |
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 next 24 h camera in Grand Marais Only under the auroral oval: northern Norway, Swedish and Finnish Lapland, Iceland, Alaska, northern Canada.
- Kp 3 Unsettled eye in Grand Marais Bright in the Arctic; low on the horizon in central Scandinavia and southern Iceland.
- Kp 4 Active 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) 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
Suburban sky. Noticeable sky glow. Bright displays are visible, but driving out of town makes a clear difference.
A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the east-south-east. Open in OpenStreetMap
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 terrain rises to about 7° above the horizon towards the north. That hides low aurora: here you need about Kp 2.7 instead of Kp 2.7. A hilltop, shore or open field with a clear view to the north helps.
From elevation data (AWS Terrain Tiles) along seven lines of sight up to 30 km.
Best months to see the aurora in Grand Marais
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
March has been the best month (27% of nights), followed by February (27%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 25% | 58% | 9.1 h | 10° / 18°C |
| October | 20% | 42% | 10.9 h | 4° / 10°C |
| November | 11% | 28% | 12.1 h | -4° / 2°C |
| December | 13% | 36% | 13.0 h | -12° / -5°C |
| January | 18% | 50% | 12.5 h | -16° / -8°C |
| February | 27% | 56% | 11.4 h | -16° / -8°C |
| March | 27% | 55% | 9.9 h | -8° / 0°C |
| April | 15% | 43% | 7.8 h | -2° / 7°C |
Aurora nights in Grand Marais since 1995
Nights when Kp reached 4.7 or more while it was dark here.
Most recent strong nights
- 4 October 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 3 October 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 7 September 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 3 July 2026 · Kp 7.0
- 24 June 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 18 April 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 17 April 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 2 April 2026 · Kp 5.3
Where to watch near Grand Marais
-
Artist's Point
Rocky point on the harbor with wide sky views and the lighthouse and Lake Superior as foreground. · about 1 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Grand Marais Lighthouse (breakwall)
Harbor breakwall lighthouse that makes a classic night-sky photo foreground. · about 1 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Pincushion Mountain Overlook
Overlook on the ridge just inland of town, giving a higher vantage point above the lake. · about 5 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Chik-Wauk Museum (end of Gunflint Trail)
Remote site at the edge of the Boundary Waters Dark Sky Sanctuary with very dark skies. · about 87 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
Local knowledge
- Grand Marais is on Lake Superior's North Shore, about 180 km northeast of Duluth, and is the starting point of the Gunflint Trail.
- The town faces the lake to the south, so for a clear northern horizon head inland up the Gunflint Trail or to higher ground behind town.
- The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, reached via the Gunflint Trail, became an International Dark Sky Sanctuary in 2020.
- The Chik-Wauk Museum near the end of the Gunflint Trail runs a dark-sky camera you can check online for the previous night's sky.
- At this latitude a moderate geomagnetic storm is usually needed, so watch the aurora forecast and clear-sky conditions.
Rocks and the breakwall at Artist's Point can be icy and wave-washed; stay well back from the water at night.
The Gunflint Trail is a remote road of about 92 km with limited services and wildlife on the road; overnight visits to the Boundary Waters require a permit.
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Thunder Bay International Airport (YQT) · 102 km
- Typical low / high in March
- -8° / 0°C
- What to wear
- Below freezing at night: thermal layers, a warm jacket, hat, gloves and winter boots. 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 Grand Marais?
From Grand Marais the aurora is visible on most active nights — first low to the north, from about Kp 2.7.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Grand Marais?
Face north (about 0° from true north). At Kp 2.7 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 13° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
What is the best month to see the aurora in Grand Marais?
Over 2005–2025, March gave the best odds in Grand Marais (27% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by February (27%).
When is the aurora season in Grand Marais?
Grand Marais 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 Grand Marais?
Noticeable sky glow. Bright displays are visible, but driving out of town makes a clear difference. A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the east-south-east.
When was the aurora last possible in Grand Marais?
Activity last reached storm level (Kp 5 or more) during darkness in Grand Marais on 4 October 2026 (Kp 5.0) — 933 such nights since 1995. Here the aurora also appears on many quieter nights.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Grand Marais share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- City of Grand Marais 1 km
- Chippewa City 3 km
- Croftville 5 km
- Maple Hill 7 km
- Pine Mountain Trailer Court 9 km
- Covill 14 km
- Cook County 17 km
- Unorganized Territory of East Cook 27 km
- Lutsen Mobile Home Park 27 km
- Lutsen 28 km
- Township of Lutsen 28 km
- Hovland 29 km
- Unorganized Territory of West Cook 33 km
- Township of Tofte 37 km