Minnesota, United States
Northern lights in Duluth
Answer
Tonight
Darkness window open
Civil darkness has begun.
Observed 10:53 UTC, forecast 12:26 UTC, 93 min lead
Clock times in America/Chicago
Valid 11:00 to 12:00 UTC
Storm level needed
Duluth sits at 46.78N 92.11W in Minnesota, United States. The IGRF-14 centered dipole puts Duluth at 55.4 degrees geomagnetic latitude, 8.6 degrees closer to the magnetic pole than its map latitude suggests. Duluth sits at 55.4 degrees geomagnetic. By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 6, and aurora is usually visible on the northern horizon at G1 (Kp 5) or less.
"aurora is commonly visible at high latitudes (northern Michigan and Maine)"
The nearest other Glow towns are Hibbing (95 km), West Coon Rapids (204 km), Saint Cloud (209 km). Hibbing sits 0.6 degrees higher on the dipole and needs the same Kp.
Approximate: SWPC calls its Kp to latitude rule an average, and a centered dipole can differ by a degree from fuller field models. How the storm level is matched
The year in darkness
Every night of 2026 at Duluth has some civil darkness; the shortest month sample still has 6.7 hours. Every evening of the year at Duluth clears Glow's dark-season bar of 4 hours of civil night between 18:00 and 06:00. Duluth's longest night of the year, Dec 17, has 14 h 11 min of civil night.
Solar midnight at Duluth, when the sun is lowest, falls at 00:04 on local clocks on December 15 and 01:09 on June 15. That is 4 min after midnight in December and 1 h 9 min after midnight in June, the gap set by daylight saving and the equation of time. So at Duluth the darkest hour sits near the middle of SWPC's 10 PM to 2 AM window in winter.
Month by month
| Month | Night | Civil | Cloud | Clear dark | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 13.8 h | 11.3 h | 63% | 5.1 h | |
| Feb | 12.5 h | 10.1 h | 59% | 5.1 hbest | |
| Mar | 11.0 h | 8.6 h | 62% | 4.2 h | |
| Apr | 9.2 h | 6.5 h | 64% | 3.3 h | |
| May | 7.6 h | 4.1 h | 65% | 2.7 h | |
| Jun | 6.7 h | 2.1 h | 61% | 2.6 h | |
| Jul | 7.2 h | 3.2 h | 51% | 3.5 h | |
| Aug | 8.6 h | 5.7 h | 52% | 4.1 h | |
| Sep | 10.3 h | 7.9 h | 56% | 4.6 h | |
| Oct | 12.0 h | 9.7 h | 64% | 4.3 h | |
| Nov | 13.4 h | 11.0 h | 69% | 4.2 h | |
| Dec | 14.2 h | 11.7 h | 71% | 4.1 h |
By the 15th-of-the-month sample, December is the darkest month at Duluth with 14.2 hours of civil night and June the lightest at 6.7. Across the year Duluth gets 3,845 hours of civil night. Astronomical night at Duluth, the sun 18 degrees or more below the horizon, lasts 11.7 hours on December 15.
NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 all-hours climatology puts mean cloud amount for the 1 degree cell around Duluth at 61% across the year, from 51% in July to 71% in December. In the months with at least 4 hours of civil night Duluth averages 61%, against a median of 61% for Glow towns in United States.
Multiplying civil night by the clear share of the sky gives February the best score, 5.1 hours, ahead of January at 5.1. Duluth's equinox months score 4.2 in March and 4.6 in September, the weeks SWPC links with larger storms.
Kp history
From 1996 to 2025, the GFZ Potsdam record shows a 3-hour Kp of 6 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge over Duluth, on 3% of days. At Duluth's level the share runs from 1% in December to 5% in October, while storm days with Kp 5 or more made up 10%.
Share of UTC days in each calendar month whose highest 3-hour Kp reached Kp 6. Kp history by year
Moon, next 30 nights
Over the 30 nights from Oct 1, the new moon falls on Oct 10 and the full moon on Oct 25, in America/Chicago dates. 15 of the 30 nights at Duluth have at least 2 moon-free dark hours inside 10 PM to 2 AM, and Oct 5 has the most at 4 h. Tonight Duluth has 11 h 15 min of civil night, 2 h 4 min of it with the moon down.
- 1
65% lit
2.1 h
- 2
54% lit
3.2 h
- 3
43% lit
4.5 h
- 4
32% lit
5.8 h
- 5
22% lit
7.2 h
- 6
13% lit
8.6 h
- 7
7% lit
9.8 h
- 8
2% lit
11.1 h
- 9
0% lit
11.7 h
- 10
0% lit
11.7 h
- 11
3% lit
11.8 h
- 12
7% lit
11.8 h
- 13
13% lit
11.5 h
- 14
20% lit
10.9 h
- 15
28% lit
10.2 h
- 16
36% lit
9.3 h
- 17
46% lit
8.2 h
- 18
55% lit
7.1 h
- 19
65% lit
6.0 h
- 20
74% lit
4.9 h
- 21
82% lit
3.7 h
- 22
89% lit
2.5 h
- 23
95% lit
1.3 h
- 24
99% lit
0.0 h
- 25
100% lit
0.0 h
- 26
98% lit
0.0 h
- 27
94% lit
0.0 h
- 28
87% lit
0.8 h
- 29
79% lit
1.8 h
- 30
68% lit
3.1 h
Each cell is the night that starts on that date. Hours are civil-dark time with the moon below the horizon; the green rule scales with them. Green outline: new moon. Bone outline: full moon.
Within United States
Among the 10 Glow towns in Minnesota, Duluth ranks 2nd by dipole latitude against a regional median of 53.5 degrees; Hibbing sits highest at 56.0. Among the 136 Glow towns in United States, Duluth ranks 10th by dipole latitude against a national median of 51.5 degrees; Fairbanks sits highest at 65.7. On December 15 Duluth gets 14.2 hours of civil night, 15th longest of 136 in United States, where the median is 13.8.
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Duluth?
- Duluth sits at 55.4 degrees geomagnetic. By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 6, and aurora is usually visible on the northern horizon at G1 (Kp 5) or less. Clear, dark sky over Duluth still decides it.
- When is it dark enough in Duluth?
- Every night at Duluth has civil darkness. Tonight has 11 h 15 min, and December 15 has 14.2 hours.
- What is the best month for aurora in Duluth?
- February, by civil night at Duluth times the clear share of the sky from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 average.
- How cloudy is Duluth in the dark months?
- About 61% mean cloud amount over Duluth in the months with at least 4 hours of civil night, from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 all-hours climatology.
- How often is activity high enough for Duluth?
- A 3-hour Kp of 6 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge overhead, occurred on 3% of days from 1996 to 2025 in the GFZ Potsdam record.
- Why does Duluth have its own page?
- Its OVATION cell, darkness and NWS grid square are computed for Duluth's own coordinates, and it sits higher on the dipole than Minneapolis.
- Does lake cloud show up here?
- Whatever cloud NWS forecasts for the Duluth grid square shows up. Glow does not add its own lake-effect estimate.
Nearby and related
Nearest Glow towns
Duluth by month
Region and comparisons