You can sometimes see the northern lights when it’s cloudy, but only if the cloud cover is thin, broken, or has gaps; a thick, solid overcast will block them almost completely. In practice, clouds mostly dull the colors and reduce the “wow” factor rather than making the aurora totally impossible to see.

How clouds affect visibility

  • Northern lights occur very high in the atmosphere (around 70–400 km up), while clouds sit far below, so any cloud layer is between you and the aurora.
  • Thin or scattered clouds can let enough light through that bright auroras still show as glows or bands in the gaps.
  • Thick, low, or widespread clouds act like a blanket and will usually hide the display entirely for the naked eye.

When you can still see them

  • If the aurora is particularly strong, it can sometimes be visible through thin or patchy clouds as a diffuse glow or faint moving shapes.
  • Broken cloud cover with clear patches can still offer dramatic views when the lights line up with those openings.
  • A camera with long exposure often “sees” the aurora through marginal cloud better than your eyes, making weak or cloud-muted displays look brighter.

Common real‑world scenarios

  • Light, fast‑moving clouds: You may catch brief, beautiful glimpses as holes open and close in the cloud deck.
  • Low fog or sea mist: Even if it glows a bit green above, it will usually erase sharp features and make the show look very muted.
  • Solid overcast: In this case, you effectively won’t see the northern lights at all, even if they are active above the clouds.

Tips if it’s cloudy

  • Move a short distance away; cloud and fog layers are often very local, so relocating can reveal clearer sky.
  • Watch satellite and cloud forecasts to find nearby gaps in the cover instead of canceling plans too early.
  • Use a tripod and long‑exposure photos to check if a “cloudy” glow is actually faint aurora your eyes can’t fully pick up.

In short: a few clouds are fine, thin clouds are sometimes workable, but a thick, unbroken cloud layer will keep the northern lights hidden almost every time.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.