Aurora Borealis in Minneapolis
United States · 44.98°, -93.26° · geomagnetic 53.6° · needs Kp 7
Tonight in Minneapolis
1%
Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Minneapolis needs Kp 7 to see anything at all, and tonight the forecast peaks at Kp 4.7. Short of the threshold, which is what most nights look like here.
Updated 2026-08-02 20:20 UTC
The next 30 nights in Minneapolis
Every night to come, scored the same way as tonight. The best of the open week is Sunday 2 Aug at 1%. Not one of the seven reaches the Kp 7 that Minneapolis needs, which is normal rather than unlucky — it averages 3.2 viable nights a year. The 23 nights past the seven-day window move with the 27-day solar rotation and are updated daily in the app.
Nights 8–30 unlock in the Revon app
See all 30 nights for Minneapolis
Revon aurora model over the NOAA Kp forecast and 27-day outlook
How often the aurora borealis reaches Minneapolis
3.2 nights a year, averaged across 10.0 years of records
| Storm level | Nights / year |
|---|---|
| Kp 4 | 83.4 |
| Kp 5 | 28.7 |
| Kp 6 | 9.3 |
| Kp 7 | 3.2 |
| Kp 8 | 1.2 |
NOAA planetary Kp, 2016-04-02 to 2026-03-30
Wait for an alert; do not book a week
At Kp 7, Minneapolis needs a severe geomagnetic storm before anything shows above the northern horizon. Storms that size arrive a handful of times per solar cycle and announce themselves a day or two ahead. Watching for one beats picking dates and hoping.
Hours of true darkness, month by month
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11.4 | 10.3 | 8.9 | 7.0 | 4.9 | 3.3 | 4.1 | 6.2 | 8.2 | 9.9 | 11.1 | 11.7 |
Solar declination and hour angle at −18°
Getting clear of the light
With 410,939 people around you, the sky over central Minneapolis is Bortle 8. The glow hides anything but the brightest display, so the drive out matters more here than the forecast does.
- 58 km north — around Isanti → Bortle 5
- 83 km north-east — around Town of Milltown → Bortle 4
Falchi 2016 World Atlas (DOI: 10.5880/GFZ.1.4.2016.001)
The months that actually deliver
Counting only nights that were both stormy enough and dark enough, May, September and August came out ahead in Minneapolis. That is storm season and darkness overlapping — the equinoxes tend to be geomagnetically active, and the nights are already long by then.
Darkest nights of the coming year
A bright moon washes out a weak display as effectively as street lighting. These new moons fall inside the Minneapolis viewing season.
- 13 Aug 2026
- 11 Sep 2026
- 11 Oct 2026
- 09 Nov 2026
- 09 Dec 2026
- 07 Jan 2027
- 06 Feb 2027
Where it is close to a certainty
If you would rather plan a trip than wait for a storm, the nearest place with genuinely frequent aurora is Yellowknife, 2,365 km north-north-west in Canada.
| Minneapolis | Yellowknife | |
|---|---|---|
| Kp needed | 7 | 3 |
| Nights per year | 3.2 | 171.4 |
| Geomagnetic latitude | 53.6° | 68.6° |
Confirmed reports from this area
173 verified sightings were logged within 300 km of Minneapolis between 2015-01-01 and 2016-12-31. Rare is not the same as impossible.
Aurorasaurus verified positive reports
Where the horizon opens up near Minneapolis
The display sits low on the northern horizon, so what beats a better forecast is open ground facing that way. Height gets you above the town glow; water gives you an unbroken skyline. These are within a short drive of Minneapolis.
- Lovell Square — park3.0 km west-north-west
- Northeast Athletic Field — park3.1 km north-east
- Wirth Lake — lake4.7 km west
- Sunset Hill — mountain5.1 km north-west
- Twin Lake — lake5.8 km west-north-west
- Chase Island — island10.8 km north
Places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
What to do with the daylight
Aurora watching is a night job, and in winter that leaves a short, bright day to fill. Close to Minneapolis you will find KMOJ-FM (Minneapolis), KVBM-TV (Minneapolis) and KUOM-AM (Minneapolis), and for a day when the cloud sits low, Minneapolis Air and Space Museum, Minneapolis Institute of Arts and Minnesota Transportation Museum are indoors and near by.
Keep the daylight loose: the sky decides the evening, and the forecast can turn within a few hours.
Places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where to stay
Staying central in Minneapolis is fine for everything except the aurora itself — you will still need to drive out. If seeing it matters more than convenience, base yourself on the edge of town facing your dark spot.
- Courtyard by Marriott Downtown Minneapolis at the Depot 0.0 km from the centre
- The Depot Renaissance Minneapolis Hotel 0.0 km from the centre
- Residence Inn Minneapolis at The Depot by Marriott 0.2 km from the centre
- Residence Inn Minneapolis Downtown At The Depot 0.2 km from the centre
- Nicollet Island Inn 0.7 km from the centre
- The Hotel Minneapolis - A Doubletree Hotel 0.8 km from the centre
Places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0) — confirm before booking
The last nights it was visible here
Nights in the last decade when the storm was strong enough for Minneapolis and the sky was dark enough to show it.
| Date | Peak |
|---|---|
| 2026-03-20 | Kp 7.0 |
| 2026-01-20 | Kp 7.67 |
| 2026-01-19 | Kp 8.67 |
| 2025-11-12 | Kp 7.33 |
| 2025-11-11 | Kp 8.67 |
NOAA planetary Kp
Know when it is worth going outside
Revon watches the Minneapolis forecast and pushes an alert when the odds for tonight clear your threshold — no checking, no guessing.
Common questions about the aurora borealis in Minneapolis
Can you see the aurora borealis from Minneapolis?
Yes. On the last 10.0 years of NOAA Kp records, Minneapolis had about 3.2 nights a year when the storm was strong enough and the sky dark enough at the same time.
What Kp index do you need to see the aurora borealis in Minneapolis?
Kp 7. Minneapolis sits at geomagnetic latitude 53.6°, and the auroral oval only reaches that far from the pole once activity hits Kp 7. Storms that size occur about 3.2 nights a year.
When is the best time of year to see the aurora borealis in Minneapolis?
May, September and August. Those months scored highest once both conditions are counted together: geomagnetic activity and enough hours of real darkness.
Where can you escape the light pollution near Minneapolis?
The centre of Minneapolis reads Bortle 8. The nearest sky at Bortle 4 is about 83 km north-east around Town of Milltown. On a marginal night that drive matters more than the forecast does.
Where is the nearest place to Minneapolis with reliable aurora borealis?
Yellowknife, Canada — 2,365 km north-north-west. It needs only Kp 3 and averages 171.4 viable nights a year against 3.2 in Minneapolis.
Nearby towns
Forecasts for places within reach of Minneapolis.