Northern Lights Forecast for Quebec City

In big storms, La Presse has published readers' photos from Beauport, on the north shore east of Old Quebec, and from Vieux-Lévis, on the south shore across the river. Both sit inside the city's glow, so it takes a bright display. For a darker horizon, Île d'Orléans starts about 5 km east of downtown, and Parc national de la Jacques-Cartier is about 50 km north.

Sainte-Famille on the north shore, or Saint-François at the eastern tip. The island starts about 5 km east of downtown, across the bridge from Beauport, and is 34 km long and mostly farmland. Follow the chemin Royal to Sainte-Famille, which looks across the channel to the Côte-de-Beaupré, or to Saint-François, about 45 km from Old Quebec, where the city's glow is behind you.

It is a light installation, not the sky. The Bunge grain silos in the Old Port are lit up every night as an illuminated sculpture called Aurora Borealis. The real aurora reaches Quebec City only during geomagnetic storms, and you see far more of it from the dark farmland of Île d'Orléans than from the lit-up waterfront.

September and late winter. At Jean Lesage International Airport the sun shines for about 43% of the possible hours in September and about 42% from February to April, against 27% in November and 31% in December. February, when the Carnaval de Québec runs, combines long nights with clearer weather than early winter. November is the greyest month.

In Quebec City, you usually need at least Kp 6 to have a reasonable chance of seeing the northern lights. Lower Kp can still bring a faint aurora display low on the northern horizon, but it is less common.

This is based on magnetic latitude, and Kp index is a global geomagnetic index, so treat it as a rule of thumb, not a location-specific guarantee.

Tonight, the NOAA Kp index forecast is 1.7 to 2.7. That is below the usual Kp index threshold for Quebec City, so seeing the aurora is unlikely.