Region
Northern lights in Lower 48 states
Answer
The towns side by side
| Town | Dipole | Edge overhead at | Typical G level | Dec 15 night | No civil night | Dark season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duluth | 55.4° | Kp 6 | G1 or less | 14.2 h | Never | 365 days |
| Minneapolis | 53.5° | Kp 7 | G3 | 14.0 h | Never | 365 days |
| Seattle | 53.0° | Kp 7 | G3 | 14.3 h | Never | 365 days |
| Portland, Maine | 52.9° | Kp 7 | G3 | 13.9 h | Never | 365 days |
| Buffalo | 52.0° | Kp 7 | G3 | 13.8 h | Never | 365 days |
What the numbers say about Lower 48 states
In Lower 48 states, Duluth sits highest on the dipole at 55.4 degrees and Buffalo lowest at 52.0, a spread of 3.3 degrees or about 370 km. By SWPC's oval-edge rule that means Kp 6 for Duluth and Kp 7 for Buffalo.
On December 15 civil night runs from 14.3 hours in Seattle to 13.8 in Buffalo. On June 15 the same towns have 6.7 (Duluth), 7.0 (Minneapolis), 6.5 (Seattle), 7.3 (Portland, Maine), 7.4 (Buffalo).
All 5 towns keep civil darkness every night of 2026, and all clear Glow's dark-season bar of 4 evening hours every day.
SWPC's tips page says that at Kp 6 to 7 it might be possible to see the aurora from the northern edge of the United States, and that at Kp 8 to 9 it may be seen overhead from the northern states. On the NOAA scale, G2 (Kp 6) is typically seen at 55 degrees geomagnetic and G3 (Kp 7) at 50. All five towns have civil darkness every night of the year and NWS cloud forecasts.
Month pages for these towns
- Duluth in September
- Duluth in December
- Duluth in March
- Minneapolis in September
- Minneapolis in December
- Minneapolis in March
- Seattle in September
- Seattle in December
- Seattle in March
- Portland, Maine in September
- Portland, Maine in December
- Portland, Maine in March
- Buffalo in September
- Buffalo in December
- Buffalo in March
Questions
- Which lower 48 town is best for the northern lights?
- Duluth sits highest on the dipole of the five and is the only one above SWPC's typical G2 latitude of 55 degrees.
- Can you see the northern lights from Seattle?
- During storms. Seattle sits lower on the dipole than its map latitude suggests, near Minneapolis. See Seattle vs Minneapolis.
- What Kp do towns in Lower 48 states need?
- By SWPC's oval-edge rule: Duluth Kp 6, Minneapolis Kp 7, Seattle Kp 7, Portland, Maine Kp 7, Buffalo Kp 7.
- When is it too light for aurora in Lower 48 states?
- Duluth: never. Minneapolis: never. Seattle: never. Portland, Maine: never. Buffalo: never.
- Which town in Lower 48 states has the longest December night?
- Seattle, with 14.3 hours of civil night on December 15.
Sources and verification
- IGRF-14 coefficients, NOAA NCEIhttps://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/IAGA/vmod/coeffs/igrf14coeffs.txt
- NOAA Space Weather Scaleshttps://www.spaceweather.gov/noaa-scales-explanation
- NOAA SWPC, Tips on viewing the aurorahttps://www.spaceweather.gov/content/tips-viewing-aurora
- SunCalchttps://github.com/mourner/suncalc
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.