Detroit, MI · magnetic latitude 51.6°
Northern lights in Detroit: tonight’s chance
Detroit is the Michigan city farthest from the aurora oval, and its river view points the wrong way, toward Canada in the south.
Tonight at Detroit, MI
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Reading the SWPC Kp forecast and the cloud forecast…
| Kp forecast during the dark hours | not yet forecast |
|---|---|
| Kp needed here | 6.7 (G3 strong) |
| Cloud cover in the dark hours | loading |
| Dark sky (Sun 18° down) | 8:26 PM to 6:10 AM EDT |
| Moon | 13% lit |
| Right now, OVATION (30 to 90 min) | loading or unavailable |
| Magnetic latitude (AACGM) | 51.6° |
Hour by hour, EDT
7 PM
Kp –
– ☁
No
8 PM
Kp –
– ☁
No
9 PM
Kp –
– ☁
No
10 PM
Kp –
– ☁
No
11 PM
Kp –
– ☁
No
12 AM
Kp –
– ☁
No
1 AM
Kp –
– ☁
No
2 AM
Kp –
– ☁
No
3 AM
Kp –
– ☁
No
4 AM
Kp –
– ☁
No
5 AM
Kp –
– ☁
No
6 AM
Kp –
– ☁
No
Rules checked · Built by Radif Partners · How the answer works
- Kp to see it from Detroit
- 6.7
- Storm level needed
- G3 (Strong)
- Kp for aurora overhead
- 7.2
- Most clear dark hours
- September
To see the northern lights from Detroit you need a planetary Kp of about 6.7, a G3 (Strong) storm on the NOAA scale. The city lies at 51.6 degrees magnetic latitude in the AACGM model, the lowest of the Michigan towns on this site and close to Toledo's 50.9, while Marquette, in the Upper Peninsula, needs only Kp 5.1. The oval itself would pass overhead around Kp 7.2. Cloud is a serious limit in winter: the NASA POWER average for Detroit reaches 79% in December, against 49% in September. Full darkness on the 15th spans 11.5 hours in December and only 4.2 in June. Taking both into account, September, October and November hold the most clear dark hours. The tool below matches tonight's Kp forecast with National Weather Service sky cover for Detroit, hour by hour.
Canada to the south, suburbs to the north
Detroit has a geographic oddity that trips up aurora hunters: from downtown, Canada lies to the south. The Detroit River bends so that Windsor, Ontario, sits across the water below the city on the map, and the riverfront walks and parks face that way. They are pleasant places to stand at night, but they look at the southern sky, the one direction a storm at Detroit's threshold never reaches. Turn around and the northern horizon is the long spread of the suburbs up Woodward Avenue and into Oakland County, the brightest part of the region.
So the Detroit plan is a drive. The nearest open water to the northeast is Lake St. Clair, whose shoreline parks give a wider sky than any city street, though the far shore is lit too. For a genuinely dark horizon, the farmland of the Thumb and the Lake Huron shore beyond Port Huron are the realistic targets, and the Michigan page lists the darker sites farther north.
Why a strong storm, and how strong
At 51.6 degrees magnetic latitude, Detroit sits between the Kp 6 and Kp 7 points of the NOAA storm scale, which the view line on this site links in a straight line. The result is a threshold of Kp 6.7, a G3 (Strong) storm, 1.5 Kp above what Marquette needs. Overhead aurora, the nights when color fills the sky to the south as well, would take about Kp 7.2, a level reached only in the biggest storms of a solar cycle.
What Kp does this town need?
Kp to see aurora from here
6.7
| Magnetic latitude (AACGM) | 51.6° |
| Kp for aurora overhead | 7.2 |
| Storm level | G3 Strong |
| How often that level comes | about 130 days per 11-year cycle |
View line: the more southern of the SWPC oval rule and the NOAA G scale latitudes at each Kp.
Across the state line, Toledo needs about Kp 6.8, so southeast Michigan and northwest Ohio share the same odds; the Cleveland page covers the Lake Erie side.
Grey winters in the Detroit area
The months with the longest nights are also the cloudiest here. NASA POWER averages put December at 79%, and January is close behind, as storm systems and lake moisture keep low cloud over southeast Michigan. Early autumn is the window: September drops to 49% with full darkness from 9:17 PM to 5:37 AM on the 15th, and October still offers 9.8 dark hours. When a strong storm is forecast, check the hourly cloud cover in the tool before driving north, since the Thumb and the metro can see different skies. The Grand Rapids page shows the west side of the state.
Kp needed around Detroit
| Town | Magnetic latitude | Kp to see it | Kp overhead | Storm level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houghton | 56.3° | 4.9 | 4.9 | G1 (Minor) |
| Marquette | 55.7° | 5.1 | 5.1 | G1 (Minor) |
| Sault Ste. Marie | 55.6° | 5.2 | 5.2 | G1 (Minor) |
| Traverse City | 54.0° | 6.0 | 6.0 | G2 (Moderate) |
| Grand Rapids | 52.3° | 6.5 | 6.9 | G2 (Moderate) |
| Lansing | 52.0° | 6.6 | 7.0 | G2 (Moderate) |
| Detroit | 51.6° | 6.7 | 7.2 | G3 (Strong) |
Darkness and clouds by month in Detroit
| Month | Dark hours | Dark sky, 15th | Mean cloud | Clear dark hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 11.3 h | 7:04 PM to 6:19 AM | 77% | 2.6 h |
| February | 10.2 h | 7:38 PM to 5:53 AM | 72% | 2.9 h |
| March | 8.9 h | 9:12 PM to 6:09 AM | 68% | 2.9 h |
| April | 7.2 h | 9:55 PM to 5:08 AM | 64% | 2.6 h |
| May | 5.4 h | 10:45 PM to 4:11 AM | 64% | 1.9 h |
| June | 4.2 h | 11:25 PM to 3:40 AM | 56% | 1.9 h |
| July | 4.8 h | 11:13 PM to 4:03 AM | 50% | 2.4 h |
| August | 6.5 h | 10:20 PM to 4:53 AM | 49% | 3.3 h |
| September | 8.3 h | 9:17 PM to 5:37 AM | 49% | 4.2 h |
| October | 9.8 h | 8:23 PM to 6:12 AM | 63% | 3.6 h |
| November | 11.0 h | 6:47 PM to 5:46 AM | 69% | 3.5 h |
| December | 11.5 h | 6:42 PM to 6:13 AM | 79% | 2.4 h |