When is the best time to see the northern lights?
Across our featured northern destinations, March, February and January gave the best odds between 2005 and 2025. The strongest single places were Coldfoot, Inuvik and Yellowknife.
Northern lights: good nights by month
Share of nights that were dark, active enough for that place and mostly clear (2005–2025).
| Place | Sept | Oct | Nov | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coldfoot United States | 39% | 46% | 71% | 73% | 76% | 74% | 78% | 39% |
| Inuvik Canada | 29% | 20% | 48% | 67% | 69% | 74% | 78% | 19% |
| Yellowknife Canada | 60% | 35% | 36% | 66% | 66% | 78% | 76% | 61% |
| Iqaluit Canada | 37% | 27% | 34% | 63% | 73% | 76% | 71% | 43% |
| Dawson City Canada | 39% | 33% | 55% | 64% | 65% | 68% | 74% | 47% |
| Fairbanks United States | 37% | 33% | 60% | 65% | 71% | 68% | 72% | 48% |
| Whitehorse Canada | 42% | 35% | 46% | 53% | 53% | 62% | 67% | 60% |
| Talkeetna United States | 29% | 40% | 55% | 53% | 57% | 57% | 64% | 58% |
| Churchill Canada | 19% | 9% | 4% | 48% | 58% | 62% | 47% | 30% |
| Kangerlussuaq Greenland | 39% | 38% | 36% | 39% | 42% | 47% | 54% | 22% |
| Anchorage United States | 22% | 31% | 42% | 38% | 47% | 46% | 52% | 42% |
| Nuuk Greenland | 44% | 50% | 38% | 37% | 31% | 34% | 38% | 28% |
| Utqiagvik United States | 11% | 9% | 15% | 37% | 49% | 49% | 45% | 4% |
| Gällivare Sweden | 40% | 31% | 32% | 24% | 31% | 33% | 46% | 23% |
| Jokkmokk Sweden | 40% | 31% | 32% | 24% | 31% | 33% | 46% | 23% |
| Luleå Sweden | 43% | 30% | 33% | 29% | 30% | 33% | 43% | 33% |
| Kiruna Sweden | 35% | 26% | 29% | 23% | 31% | 31% | 43% | 16% |
| Jukkasjärvi Sweden | 35% | 26% | 29% | 23% | 31% | 31% | 43% | 16% |
| Höfn Iceland | 36% | 38% | 40% | 43% | 37% | 37% | 36% | 34% |
| Ilulissat Greenland | 40% | 40% | 33% | 35% | 34% | 40% | 41% | 12% |
| Longyearbyen Svalbard & Jan Mayen | 2% | 22% | 26% | 32% | 36% | 40% | 25% | 0% |
| Vík í Mýrdal Iceland | 32% | 39% | 39% | 40% | 30% | 29% | 33% | 33% |
| Saariselkä Finland | 36% | 26% | 28% | 24% | 34% | 32% | 40% | 15% |
| Ivalo Finland | 39% | 23% | 19% | 16% | 26% | 24% | 28% | 8% |
| Reykjavík Iceland | 29% | 31% | 33% | 39% | 29% | 29% | 28% | 24% |
| Rovaniemi Finland | 38% | 20% | 22% | 20% | 26% | 27% | 34% | 24% |
| Luosto Finland | 38% | 21% | 26% | 20% | 26% | 27% | 35% | 19% |
| Inari Finland | 37% | 27% | 26% | 22% | 35% | 33% | 37% | 11% |
| Muonio village Finland | 35% | 23% | 23% | 16% | 24% | 28% | 36% | 13% |
| Levi Finland | 35% | 23% | 23% | 16% | 24% | 28% | 36% | 13% |
| Ylläs (Äkäslompolo) Finland | 35% | 23% | 23% | 16% | 24% | 28% | 36% | 13% |
| Abisko Sweden | 27% | 23% | 30% | 29% | 34% | 34% | 33% | 15% |
| Snæfellsnes (Grundarfjörður) Iceland | 25% | 24% | 25% | 33% | 23% | 25% | 23% | 19% |
| Kilpisjärvi Finland | 27% | 22% | 25% | 24% | 29% | 27% | 24% | 9% |
| Grand Marais United States | 25% | 20% | 11% | 13% | 18% | 27% | 27% | 15% |
| Jasper Canada | 27% | 20% | 16% | 16% | 18% | 22% | 21% | 25% |
| Senja Norway | 27% | 20% | 19% | 18% | 20% | 18% | 15% | 7% |
| Svolvær Norway | 24% | 26% | 21% | 24% | 23% | 22% | 20% | 12% |
| Narvik Norway | 25% | 25% | 24% | 24% | 25% | 23% | 18% | 9% |
| Utsjoki parish village Finland | 24% | 15% | 16% | 17% | 20% | 17% | 13% | 4% |
| Bodø Norway | 24% | 23% | 22% | 23% | 22% | 21% | 20% | 11% |
| Kirkenes Norway | 24% | 13% | 13% | 15% | 14% | 11% | 18% | 5% |
| Vardø Norway | 24% | 13% | 13% | 15% | 14% | 11% | 18% | 5% |
| Sortland Norway | 24% | 21% | 19% | 19% | 17% | 16% | 17% | 10% |
| Alta Norway | 23% | 18% | 19% | 17% | 19% | 17% | 13% | 5% |
| Lyngen Alps (Lyngseidet) Norway | 23% | 18% | 18% | 18% | 19% | 17% | 13% | 5% |
| Egilsstaðir Iceland | 22% | 21% | 18% | 20% | 17% | 21% | 18% | 21% |
| Akureyri Iceland | 21% | 15% | 17% | 15% | 12% | 15% | 12% | 15% |
| Húsavík Iceland | 21% | 15% | 17% | 15% | 12% | 15% | 12% | 14% |
| Lake Mývatn (Reykjahlíð) Iceland | 21% | 15% | 17% | 15% | 12% | 15% | 12% | 14% |
| Tromsø Norway | 20% | 19% | 17% | 14% | 17% | 14% | 13% | 7% |
| Hammerfest Norway | 19% | 15% | 15% | 15% | 14% | 11% | 11% | 2% |
| Honningsvåg Norway | 19% | 15% | 15% | 15% | 14% | 11% | 11% | 2% |
| Tórshavn Faroe Islands | 15% | 13% | 12% | 10% | 9% | 12% | 7% | 15% |
| Ísafjörður Iceland | 15% | 13% | 11% | 11% | 8% | 9% | 9% | 8% |
| Lerwick United Kingdom | 12% | 13% | 9% | 6% | 5% | 10% | 11% | 12% |
| Copper Harbor United States | 9% | 10% | 7% | 3% | 5% | 7% | 13% | 2% |
| Banff Canada | 11% | 9% | 8% | 7% | 6% | 8% | 8% | 8% |
| Inverness United Kingdom | 10% | 9% | 8% | 7% | 3% | 7% | 9% | 8% |
| Portree United Kingdom | 8% | 7% | 6% | 4% | 3% | 6% | 10% | 7% |
| Marquette United States | 6% | 6% | 4% | 2% | 2% | 4% | 8% | 1% |
| Aviemore United Kingdom | 8% | 7% | 5% | 5% | 2% | 5% | 7% | 6% |
| Thurso United Kingdom | 7% | 3% | 3% | 1% | 1% | 3% | 4% | 6% |
| Kirkwall United Kingdom | 7% | 3% | 3% | 1% | 1% | 3% | 4% | 6% |
| Bar Harbor United States | 3% | 1% | 1% | 0% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% |
| Cherry Springs State Park United States | 1% | 1% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Southern lights
| Place | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sept | Oct |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bruny Island (Alonnah) Australia | 7% | 8% | 7% | 8% | 6% | 8% | 8% | 8% |
| Southport / Cockle Creek Australia | 7% | 8% | 7% | 8% | 6% | 8% | 8% | 8% |
| Stewart Island/Rakiura (Oban) New Zealand | 5% | 5% | 5% | 4% | 6% | 5% | 4% | 3% |
| Hobart Australia | 4% | 4% | 4% | 4% | 3% | 5% | 4% | 4% |
| Invercargill New Zealand | 4% | 4% | 5% | 3% | 3% | 2% | 4% | 2% |
| Cradle Mountain Australia | 3% | 3% | 4% | 3% | 2% | 4% | 4% | 3% |
| The Catlins (Owaka) New Zealand | 3% | 3% | 4% | 2% | 2% | 2% | 2% | 1% |
| Dunedin New Zealand | 3% | 3% | 4% | 2% | 2% | 2% | 2% | 1% |
| Lake Tekapo New Zealand | 2% | 1% | 2% | 2% | 1% | 2% | 2% | 1% |
| Queenstown New Zealand | 2% | 1% | 2% | 2% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 1% |
| Aoraki/Mount Cook Village New Zealand | 0% | 0% | 1% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Melbourne Australia | 0% | 1% | 0% | 1% | 0% | 1% | 0% | 0% |
| Ushuaia Argentina | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Punta Arenas Chile | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Puerto Williams Chile | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Stanley Falkland Islands | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Darkness and clouds decide more than the calendar
Above the Arctic Circle the midnight sun ends the season from roughly mid-April to late August. Within the dark season, weather explains most of the difference between months: coastal places are cloudier in early winter, while inland places like Abisko, Kiruna, Fairbanks and Yellowknife have drier, clearer winters.
Geomagnetic activity tends to be slightly higher around the equinoxes in March and September, which shows up as a bump in many destinations.
How to use these numbers
Each percentage is the share of nights in that month that were dark, active enough for that place and mostly clear. Staying several nights multiplies your chances; the trip planner calculates this for you.
These are historical frequencies, not forecasts. They show where and when the odds are best; the live forecast tells you about tonight. Methodology