United States · 23 towns
Aurora towns in Minnesota
Answer
Where the towns sit
The widest gap in the dipole ranking falls between Duluth and Saint Cloud, 1.4 degrees. 6 neighbouring pairs sit within 0.5 degrees of each other, close enough that the order between them means little.
Of the 10 indexed towns in Minnesota, 2 sit between 55 and 60 degrees, where G1 (Kp 5) or less usually brings aurora into view; 8 sit below 55 degrees and need a G2 or stronger storm by NOAA's typical latitudes.
Ranked by geomagnetic latitude
| Rank | Town | Value |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hibbing | 56.0° |
| 2 | Duluth | 55.4° |
| 3 | Saint Cloud | 54.0° |
| 4 | West Coon Rapids | 53.7° |
| 5 | Plymouth | 53.5° |
| 6 | Minneapolis | 53.5° |
| 7 | Woodbury | 53.5° |
| 8 | Bloomington | 53.4° |
| 9 | Lakeville | 53.2° |
| 10 | Rochester, Minnesota | 52.6° |
Ranked by December darkness
On December 15 the median town gets 14.0 hours of civil night, against 13.8 nationally. Hibbing has the most at 14.2 hours and Rochester, Minnesota the least at 13.9. Every town keeps some civil darkness through the June solstice.
| Rank | Town | Value |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hibbing | 14.2 h |
| 2 | Duluth | 14.2 h |
| 3 | Saint Cloud | 14.1 h |
| 4 | West Coon Rapids | 14.0 h |
| 5 | Plymouth | 14.0 h |
| 6 | Minneapolis | 14.0 h |
| 7 | Woodbury | 14.0 h |
| 8 | Bloomington | 14.0 h |
| 9 | Lakeville | 14.0 h |
| 10 | Rochester, Minnesota | 13.9 h |
Ranked by clear dark season
NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology puts median cloud amount in the dark months at 59%, against 61% nationally. Saint Cloud is clearest at 58% and Hibbing cloudiest at 63%. These are all-hours averages for 1 degree cells, not forecasts.
| Rank | Town | Value |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saint Cloud | 58% |
| 2 | Minneapolis | 59% |
| 3 | Bloomington | 59% |
| 4 | Lakeville | 59% |
| 5 | West Coon Rapids | 59% |
| 6 | Plymouth | 59% |
| 7 | Woodbury | 60% |
| 8 | Rochester, Minnesota | 60% |
| 9 | Duluth | 61% |
| 10 | Hibbing | 63% |
Multiplying civil night by the clear share of the sky, September comes out best for 5 of the 10 towns and February for 3. SWPC notes a tendency toward larger storms near the equinoxes, which this score does not include.
Every town
| Town | Dipole | Storm needed | Dec 15 night | Dark-month cloud | Best month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hibbing | 56.0° | G1 or less | 14.2 h | 63% | Feb |
| Duluth | 55.4° | G1 or less | 14.2 h | 61% | Feb |
| Moorhead * | 55.1° | G1 or less | 14.2 h | 59% | Jan |
| Saint Cloud | 54.0° | G2 or more | 14.1 h | 58% | Jan |
| Blaine * | 53.7° | G2 or more | 14.0 h | 59% | Jan |
| West Coon Rapids | 53.7° | G2 or more | 14.0 h | 59% | Jan |
| Coon Rapids * | 53.6° | G2 or more | 14.0 h | 59% | Feb |
| Brooklyn Park * | 53.6° | G2 or more | 14.0 h | 59% | Feb |
| Maple Grove * | 53.6° | G2 or more | 14.0 h | 59% | Feb |
| Plymouth | 53.5° | G2 or more | 14.0 h | 59% | Feb |
| Minneapolis | 53.5° | G2 or more | 14.0 h | 59% | Sep |
| Saint Paul * | 53.5° | G2 or more | 14.0 h | 59% | Sep |
| Woodbury | 53.5° | G2 or more | 14.0 h | 60% | Sep |
| Minnetonka Mills * | 53.4° | G2 or more | 14.0 h | 59% | Sep |
| Minnetonka * | 53.4° | G2 or more | 14.0 h | 59% | Sep |
| Edina * | 53.4° | G2 or more | 14.0 h | 59% | Sep |
| Eden Prairie * | 53.4° | G2 or more | 14.0 h | 59% | Sep |
| Bloomington | 53.4° | G2 or more | 14.0 h | 59% | Sep |
| Eagan * | 53.3° | G2 or more | 14.0 h | 59% | Sep |
| Burnsville * | 53.3° | G2 or more | 14.0 h | 59% | Sep |
| Apple Valley * | 53.3° | G2 or more | 14.0 h | 59% | Sep |
| Lakeville | 53.2° | G2 or more | 14.0 h | 59% | Sep |
| Rochester, Minnesota | 52.6° | G2 or more | 13.9 h | 60% | Sep |
Questions
- Where in Minnesota is best for the aurora?
- By geomagnetic latitude, Hibbing at 56.0°. No town sits at 60 degrees or more, so every town needs some activity.
- Which town in Minnesota has the longest December night?
- Hibbing, with 14.2 hours of civil night on December 15.
- Which town in Minnesota has the clearest dark season?
- Saint Cloud, with 58% mean cloud amount in the months with at least 4 hours of civil night (NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020).
- What is the best month for aurora in Minnesota?
- September for 5 of 10 towns, by civil night times the clear share of the sky. Each town page gives its own month.
Sources and verification
- GeoNames dump (CC BY 4.0)https://download.geonames.org/export/dump/
- IGRF-14, NOAA NCEIhttps://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/IAGA/vmod/coeffs/igrf14coeffs.txt
- NASA POWER climatologyhttps://power.larc.nasa.gov/docs/services/api/temporal/climatology/
Quoted figures last checked against their sources on 2026-09-30; next review 2026-12-31. Computed figures come from SunCalc and the IGRF-14 dipole as described in the methodology. Every quote is listed in the sources ledger.