Best Time to See the Northern Lights, Month by Month

Late February to March, for most places. March is an equinox month, when geomagnetic activity runs highest, and at the places with long weather records it is as clear as or clearer than autumn. Go near a new moon if you can.

Four things decide a month: how active the aurora is, how dark the nights are, how often the sky is clear, and the moon. They peak at different times of year, so the best month is where they overlap.

The short version: March is the best all-round month, February is close behind, and December, the most booked month, is the weakest for activity. Autumn has the activity but, in Alaska and Canada, much more cloud.

Best monthsLate Feb – Mar

Also goodLate Sep – Oct

Best hours10pm – 2am

Month by month

Activity (Kp) is a planet-wide measure, so one column covers everywhere. Darkness and cloud depend on the place, so we show the three places we measured the same way, night by night. Kp is counted two ways on this site; how we work out the odds explains both, and what a clear night means.

Kp 3+: share of 3-hour periods between 21:00 and 03:00 UT with Kp 3 or more, 1932–2026, our count from GFZ data. Darkness: astronomical darkness on the 15th of the month, 2026–27 season. Clear nights (measured, our calculation): at least one clear hour in the evening window. Abisko: SMHI station 188790, 2019–2026, 7pm–midnight, cloud 25% or less. Fairbanks: airport reports, 2000–2026, 9pm–3am, no cloud beyond “few”. Reykjavík: city airport reports, 2012–2026, 9pm–2am, no cloud beyond “few”; Keflavík airport, the conservative figure, reads about 10 points lower (30–40%). Airport reports miss thin high cloud, so the Reykjavík and Fairbanks figures are slightly generous.
Month	Evening 3-hour periods at Kp 3+ (1932–2026)	Full darkness, Reykjavík	Clear nights, Reykjavík	Clear nights, Abisko	Clear nights, Fairbanks	In short
September	36.5%	4 h 49 min	43%	45%	26%	Equinox activity, short nights; cloudy in Alaska
October	35.3%	8 h 52 min	46%	50%	27%	Good activity, proper darkness; still cloudy inland in North America
November	31.0%	11 h 37 min	50%	58%	35%	Abisko's clearest month; activity dipping
December	27.9%	12 h 54 min	54%	54%	37%	Most darkness, least activity, most bookings
January	30.5%	12 h 15 min	50%	55%	44%	Activity recovering, inland skies clearing; the coldest month
February	36.0%	9 h 54 min	47%	55%	45%	Strong on every count
March	39.2%	6 h 40 min	48%	48%	49%	Most active month; clearest in Fairbanks; milder
April	38.2%	none (twilight all night)	44% (to the 20th)	not measured	40% (to the 20th)	Over in Iceland; the last weeks in Fairbanks

Why the equinoxes win

The aurora isn't seasonal, but geomagnetic activity is. It runs higher around the spring and autumn equinoxes, a pattern NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center describes as the best seasons for aurora watching.

Scientists call it the Russell–McPherron effect, after a 1973 paper: near the equinoxes, the angle between the Earth's magnetic field and the Sun's makes it likelier that energy from the solar wind gets in.

Count whole nights instead of 3-hour periods, over a shorter record, and the numbers are higher but the pattern is the same. The share of nights (1996–2026, GFZ data) whose most active three hours reached Kp 3 or more:

53%of nights in March, 1996–2026

38%of nights in December, 1996–2026

Plot the months and you get a “W”:

High in September and October
A trough in November and December
A recovery in January
A peak in February and March

That makes December the odd one out

It is the most booked month, has the longest nights, and is the quietest geomagnetically. It can still be wonderful. It is just not the best bet.

Darkness: the aurora is there in summer, you just can't see it

You need a properly dark sky. That rules out summer everywhere on this site.

Reykjavík has no full darkness at all from April.
Fairbanks' viewing season runs roughly 21 August to 21 April, according to the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

More darkness isn't always more aurora

By mid-March Reykjavík still gets 6 h 40 min of full darkness, which covers the 10pm–2am window NOAA gives as the best hours. So the shorter nights of March cost you little.

Two darkness facts people get wrong:

Abisko has about a month with no sunrise, roughly early December to early January.
Rovaniemi has none: on 21 December the sun rises at 10:58 and sets at 13:31.

A bright green aurora arc across a clear, starry sky above the lake and birch scrub at Abisko — Abisko, Sweden. Photo: Jian Liu, Unsplash License · **3-second exposure at high sensitivity: brighter than the eye sees**

Cloud, place by place

Each column below was measured or modelled a different way, so read down a column, never across. It tells you which month is clearer in that place, not which place is clearer.

Yellowknife: share of all hours with 0–2 tenths cloud, Environment and Climate Change Canada normals 1981–2010. Reykjavík: mean sky cover, Icelandic Met Office station 1, our 1996–2025 average. Tromsø and Rovaniemi: WeatherSpark, from NASA's MERRA-2 model; Tromsø's “clearer” includes partly cloudy.
Month	Yellowknife: clear hours (measured)	Reykjavík: sky covered (measured)	Tromsø: “clearer” time (modelled)	Rovaniemi: overcast or mostly cloudy (modelled)
September	—	75%	34%	68%
October	12%	71%	26%	78%
November	17%	70%	23%	80%
December	30%	71%	21%	83%
January	32%	74%	21%	84%
February	34%	74%	22%	83%
March	38%	73%	24%	77%

What the cloud tables say

Alaska and Canada clear out as winter goes on. Fairbanks goes from about a quarter of nights clear in autumn to nearly half in March. Yellowknife's clear hours triple from October to March.
Iceland has no clear month. Reykjavík's sky is 70–75% covered on average in every month, and measured night by night, 43–54% of nights at the city airport have a clear hour, with no strong best month. Driving to a gap should help more than picking the month, though that part is our estimate, not a measurement.
Abisko is clearest in November to February, and the gap between months is small.
Rovaniemi is cloudiest in December and January, on the model's figures. If the aurora matters, September or March are better bets there.

A car with its headlights on in the snow under bright green and purple aurora near Fairbanks — Fairbanks, Alaska. Photo: Nandita Damaraju, Unsplash License · **10-second exposure: brighter than the eye sees**

The moon, 2026–27

A full moon washes out a faint aurora. On a bright night it barely matters, and it lights up the landscape for photos. If you can, plan around the new moon.

Dates in UTC, our calculation using the Meeus algorithm. The standout window of the season: the first half of March 2027, with the most active month of the year and a new moon on 8 March.
New moon	Full moon
10 October 2026	26 October 2026
9 November 2026	24 November 2026
9 December 2026	24 December 2026
7 January 2027	22 January 2027
6 February 2027	20 February 2027
8 March 2027	22 March 2027

The best window for each place

Alaska (Fairbanks)

Best: late Feb – Mar · Season: ~21 Aug – 21 Apr

February and March have nearly twice the clear nights of September and October, and March is far less cold than January. The full month-by-month odds are on our Alaska page.

Iceland

Best: Sep – Mar · Standout: early March

Cloud is about the same every month, so pick by activity and darkness: late September to October, or February to mid-March. December is the quietest month for activity.

Abisko, Sweden

Best: Nov – Feb · Sky Station: 19 Oct – 27 Mar

November to February have the most clear nights, and January and February give the best odds of a proper display. The Aurora Sky Station runs its night visits from 19 October 2026 to 27 March 2027.

Tromsø, Norway

Best: Sep – Oct, Feb – Mar · Tours: Sep – early Apr

The modelled cloud barely changes through winter, so the equinox months win on activity. February 2026 was the busiest winter month on record for the region's hotels, so book early.

Yellowknife, Canada

Best: March · Avoid: October

March is the clearest month, milder than January, and the month of the snow castle festival. October is the cloudiest month, and the territory's tourism board leaves it out of its aurora seasons.

Rovaniemi and Finnish Lapland

Best: Sep, Mar · Christmas: cloudiest

The model puts December and January at their cloudiest. For the aurora, go in September or March, or head further north.

Is this a good season?

Yes. The cycle has peaked, but activity is still high. The 2026–27 and 2027–28 seasons are good, not exceptional.

October 2024when the Sun's roughly 11-year cycle peaked, so any “2026 solar maximum” headline is out of date

About 40%more evening 3-hour periods (21:00–03:00 UT) at Kp 3 or more, January 2024 to September 2026, than over the same stretch around the last cycle's peak (mid-2013 to early 2016)32.6% against 23.1%, our count from the GFZ record

2035roughly when the next peak is due

Best time for the northern lights: FAQs

What is the best month to see the northern lights?

March for most places. It is the most active month of the year in the geomagnetic record, and in Fairbanks it has the most clear nights. February is a close second.

Is December a good time to see the northern lights?

It works, but it isn't the best. December has the longest nights and the lowest geomagnetic activity of the season: on 38% of nights (1996–2026) activity peaks at Kp 3 or more, against 53% in March.

Can you see the northern lights in summer?

Not in the places on this site. The aurora is still there, but the sky never gets dark enough from about late April to late August.

What time of night is best?

Roughly 10pm to 2am local time, within an hour or two of midnight, according to NOAA. Strong nights can start earlier and run later.

Does the full moon ruin the northern lights?

It washes out faint displays but not bright ones. If you can, plan your nights around the new moon; the first half of March 2027 is the standout window.

Where to go and how long to stay

Sources (16)