# Taurid fireballs peak tonight, about 5 an hour, with clear skies Southwest to Texas Published November 11, 2026, 7:47 AM ET ยท Updated November 11, 2026, 9:16 AM ET By Ryan Hall, Y'all Written by our automated news desk from National Weather Service data. The Northern Taurid meteor shower peaks tonight, Wednesday, Nov. 11, into early Thursday, Nov. 12, at about 5 meteors an hour. The latest sky map shows clear skies from Phoenix and Los Angeles through Albuquerque, El Paso, Oklahoma City, Dallas and Austin to Little Rock. Houston, New Orleans, and parts of the Great Lakes and Northeast look cloudy. Watch after 9 PM, with the best viewing near midnight under a moonless sky. **What's new:** Refreshed with our 8:44 AM ET clear-sky map for tonight's viewing window ## Key points - **What:** The Northern Taurids, a small shower known for slow, exceptionally bright fireballs. - **When:** Peak is Wednesday night into early Thursday. Watch after 9 PM, best near midnight. - **Where it's clear:** The Southwest, the southern Plains, the lower Mississippi Valley and parts of the Southeast. - **Where it's cloudy:** The Pacific Northwest, parts of the Great Lakes and Northeast, parts of the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast, and Orlando and Tampa. - **What it means:** Don't expect a downpour of meteors. Expect a few, and maybe one bright enough to remember. ![Where it's clear tonight for the Taurid fireballs (graphic by the Ryan Hall, Y'all newsroom)](https://public.yallsoft.app/rhy/blog/images/2026-11-11-news-newsroom-17459707-0-1344.png) The Northern Taurid meteor shower peaks tonight, Wednesday, Nov. 11, into early Thursday, Nov. 12, at about 5 meteors an hour. Skies look clear from Phoenix and Los Angeles through Albuquerque, Oklahoma and most of north, central and west Texas to Little Rock. Look any time after 9 PM, with the best viewing near midnight under a sky with no moon. ## What you're looking for About 5 an hour is a slow trickle, so plan to stay out a while and let your eyes adjust. What the Taurids have going for them is the kind of meteor they throw. They're known for slow, exceptionally bright fireballs, the kind that drift across the sky instead of flashing and gone. There's no moon tonight, so the sky will be dark. That helps you catch the fainter ones between the bright ones. ## Where the sky is clear tonight This map is our newest look, and it shows midnight Eastern, which is 11 PM Central, 10 PM Mountain and 9 PM Pacific. Clear here means 0 to 10 percent cloud cover. These places look clear: - **The West and Southwest:** Phoenix, Tucson, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento and Reno. - **The Rockies and High Plains:** Denver, Cheyenne, Albuquerque, El Paso, Amarillo and Lubbock. - **The southern and central Plains:** Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Wichita, Kansas City, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin and San Antonio. - **The lower Mississippi Valley and Mid-South:** Little Rock, Shreveport, Jackson, Memphis, St. Louis and Nashville. - **The Southeast:** Montgomery, Greenville and Columbia in South Carolina, Savannah and Charlotte. If you're in the Southwest or on the southern Plains, tonight is your night. Those are the biggest clear areas on the map. ## Where clouds will get in the way Cloud cover of 80 to 100 percent is the call for Seattle and Portland, and for Bismarck and Des Moines. It also covers Detroit, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, New York and Boston. Farther south, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Richmond and Raleigh look cloudy. So do Houston, Corpus Christi, Brownsville and New Orleans, along with Orlando and Tampa. That puts parts of the Texas coast under cloud even though much of the rest of the state is clear. Some cities land in between, with mixed cloud cover: Minneapolis, Chicago, Omaha, Louisville, Atlanta, Birmingham, Philadelphia, Jacksonville and Miami. If you live in one of those, step outside around 9 PM and look up. You may find a clear window. ## What to do - Pick your time. Anytime after 9 PM works, and near midnight is best. - Get away from city lights if you can, and give your eyes 15 to 20 minutes to adjust. - Face any direction with open sky. Taurid fireballs can show up anywhere overhead. - Check the sky again before you head out. This cloud forecast comes from one model run, so edges between clear and cloudy could shift a bit. The timing of the peak is locked in. The cloud forecast is the part that could still change. For more on skies and space weather, our [space page](/space) has the latest. You can also [sign up for free Y'all Alerts](/alerts). ## Bottom line The Northern Taurids are a quiet shower with a flair for bright, slow fireballs, and tonight is the peak. Best odds go to the Southwest, southern Plains and lower Mississippi Valley, with the best view near midnight. More on: [Northern lights 2026](https://ryanhallyall.com/news/topic/northern-lights-2026) Places in this story: El Paso, TX; Oklahoma City, OK; Dallas, TX; Austin, TX; Houston, TX; New Orleans, LA ## Sources - HRRR model, NOAA National Centers for Environmental Prediction --- Canonical: https://ryanhallyall.com/news/northern-taurid-fireballs-peak-tonight-about-5-an-hour-clear-from-the-southwest-to-texas From Ryan Hall, Y'all (https://ryanhallyall.com). Always follow official warnings from the National Weather Service.