Northern Lights Forecast for Duluth

Yes, and more often than from the Twin Cities. In the strongest storms it has been photographed in and around the city, including from Park Point. On a quieter night it shows as a glow low in the north, so drive a few miles up Scenic 61 to Stoney Point or inland to Boulder Lake to get the city's lights behind you.

North-east, up the lake. Lake Superior lies south-east of Duluth and the shore runs south-west to north-east, so from Brighton Beach or Stoney Point the open water is off to your right and the dark horizon is up the shore, not due north. A strong display still fills the northern sky. For a true northern horizon, go inland to Boulder Lake, about 20 miles north.

Yes. Split Rock Lighthouse State Park is about 45 miles up the North Shore from Duluth, roughly an hour's drive past Two Harbors, with four miles of rocky Lake Superior shoreline. Gooseberry Falls State Park, a few miles closer to Duluth, is the other option on the same road.

Bob King, who writes the Astro Bob astronomy column for the Duluth News Tribune, photographs the big displays around Duluth, including from the Boulder Lake area north of the city, and writes them up in his column. MPR News runs reader photo galleries after big nights, and Duluth and Park Point have turned up in them.

In Duluth, 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 1.6 to 2.7. That is below the usual Kp index threshold for Duluth, so seeing the aurora is unlikely.