Northern lights in Iowa tonight

Northeast Iowa's Driftless Area - the unglaciated hill and valley country along the Mississippi - gives Bortle 2-3 conditions in the deeply forested valleys. Yellow River State Forest near Harpers Ferry is the state's darkest accessible site. At 43.3°N geographic, around 52° geomagnetic latitude, northeast Iowa sits at the highest latitude in the state. About 220 miles from Des Moines via US-20. Even from this dark a site, a major storm of Kp 6 is needed for a glow low on the northern horizon.

The Loess Hills - a narrow ridge of wind-deposited silt running along the Missouri River - give open north-facing positions with Bortle 3 sky. The ridgeline road through the Loess Hills State Forest from Sioux City to Council Bluffs runs along bluffs facing west and north. About 60 miles from Des Moines on the western margin. The rolling hills give elevated positions above the Missouri floodplain.

Iowa's largest state forest south of Chariton gives Bortle 3-4 conditions with 10,000 acres of oak-hickory forest. The north-facing forest roads give accessible dark sky within range of Des Moines. Clearer sky frequency is higher here than in the Iowa Great Lakes area to the north.

The bluffs above the Mississippi near Marquette give north-facing river views with Bortle 3 sky. The monument sits on high bluffs with the river below and dark forest behind. This is the closest accessible high-latitude dark sky position in the state.