Northwest Territories, CanadaMagnetic latitude 71.0°Population 3,24322 m above sea level
Northern lights in Inuvik
Inuvik sits right under the auroral oval: on clear, dark nights the aurora is often overhead, even when activity is quiet. Clouds matter far more than the Kp number here.
Right now
The aurora may be in view right now — go outside and look north-north-east!
Updates every minute while this page is open.
Tonight in one minute
Not tonight
- Solar activity Strong enough: Kp 1.7 expected, 0 needed here.
- Sky Overcast (100% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 21:17 to 08:04.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
- Detailed forecast Thu 15 1.7 Possible · Kp 1.7
- Fri 16 1.7 Possible · Kp 1.7
- Sat 17 1.7 Possible · Kp 1.7
- 27-day trend Sun 18 2 Good chance · Kp 2
- Mon 19 2 Possible · Kp 2
- Tue 20 3 Possible · Kp 3
- Wed 21 4 Possible · Kp 4
- Thu 22 4 Possible · Kp 4
- Fri 23 3 Possible · Kp 3
- Sat 24 2 Possible · Kp 2
- Sun 25 2 Possible · Kp 2
- Mon 26 2 Possible · Kp 2
- Tue 27 2 Possible · Kp 2
- Wed 28 2 Possible · Kp 2
- Thu 29 2 Possible · Kp 2
- Fri 30 5 Possible · Kp 5
- Sat 31 5 Possible · Kp 5
- Sun 1 3 Good chance · Kp 3
- Mon 2 2 Good chance · Kp 2
- Tue 3 2 Good chance · Kp 2
- Wed 4 2 Good chance · Kp 2
- Thu 5 3 Good chance · Kp 3
- Fri 6 3 Good chance · Kp 3
Monday 19 October — Good chance · Kp 2 · best around 02:00 · Forecast cloud: 36%. · Reliability: low (rough trend)
Each box is one night: the colour shows the chance, the number the expected Kp. Tap a night for details.
📅 Add these nights to your calendar — it updates itself (.ics)
How far ahead can the northern lights be forecast?
- Minutes to an hour: satellites 1.5 million km away measure the solar wind before it reaches Earth. This is the surest warning — the “Right now” box uses it.
- 1–3 days: when the Sun throws out a cloud of particles, it takes one to three days to arrive. NOAA's 3-hourly forecast covers these nights; the timing can still be off by a few hours.
- 4–27 days: the Sun turns once every 27 days, and regions that disturbed Earth's field last time often do it again. NOAA's 27-day outlook gives this rough trend — new eruptions are not in it yet.
Tonight
Updated 07:45 local time
Unlikely
Best around 07:00. Forecast max Kp 1.7 (this place needs 0), average cloud 100%.
- Dark enough
- 21:17 – 08:04
- Sunset
- 19:13 · sunrise 10:09
- Moon
- 31%
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 0
- Look towards
- north-north-east (24°)
Clearer skies nearby tonight
Tonight's cloud forecast is similar in every direction within 100 km (100% here), so driving is unlikely to help.
MET Norway forecast at 24 points within 100 km, averaged over the dark hours. Check roads and conditions before driving.
Score = activity (NOAA Kp and OVATION) × clear sky (MET Norway) × darkness × moonlight. Methodology
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What you would see from Inuvik
Facing north-north-east. Bands show where the aurora sits at two activity levels.
| Kp | What you see | Lower edge | Ray tops | Distance to the aurora |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-west | – | – | – |
| 2 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-west | – | – | – |
| 3 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-west | – | – | – |
| 4 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-west | – | – | – |
| 5 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-west | – | – | – |
| 6 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-west | – | – | – |
| 7 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-west | – | – | – |
| 8 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-west | – | – | – |
| 9 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-west | – | – | – |
The Kp scale in plain words
Kp is a 0–9 score for how strongly the Earth's magnetic field is being shaken by the solar wind. The higher it goes, the further from the poles the northern lights reach. Kp 0–2 is a quiet night; Kp 5 and above is a geomagnetic storm.
- Kp 0–2 Quiet next 24 h eye in Inuvik Only under the auroral oval: northern Norway, Swedish and Finnish Lapland, Iceland, Alaska, northern Canada.
- Kp 3 Unsettled Bright in the Arctic; low on the horizon in central Scandinavia and southern Iceland.
- Kp 4 Active Overhead in the Arctic; low in the north from southern Norway, Sweden, Finland and northern Scotland.
- Kp 5 Minor storm (G1) Scotland, southern Scandinavia, the Baltic states, the northern US states and southern Canada.
- Kp 6 Moderate storm (G2) Northern England, Denmark, northern Germany and Poland, the US Midwest — often clearer in photos than to the eye.
- Kp 7 Strong storm (G3) Most of the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Czechia; red glow in photos from France and the northern Alps.
- Kp 8 Severe storm (G4) Central Europe to the eye; red sky in photos from northern Italy, Spain, the Balkans and Turkey's Black Sea coast.
- Kp 9 Extreme storm (G5) Seen across Europe and the US; in photos as far south as the Mediterranean, Turkey and North Africa (May 2024).
Light pollution
Rural to suburban. Some sky glow from nearby lights. Moderate displays are fine; faint ones are easier a few kilometres out.
A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the north-west. Open in OpenStreetMap
Estimate from NASA VIIRS night-light data (sky-glow model within 50 km). Check access and private land before you go.
Hills and mountains
The horizon towards the north-north-east is open (terrain below 2.1°), so low aurora is not blocked.
From elevation data (AWS Terrain Tiles) along seven lines of sight up to 30 km.
Best months to see the aurora in Inuvik
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
March has been the best month (78% of nights), followed by February (74%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 29% | 30% | 5.8 h | 1° / 8°C |
| October | 20% | 20% | 10.4 h | -10° / -5°C |
| November | 48% | 48% | 13.8 h | -22° / -17°C |
| December | 67% | 67% | 15.6 h | -28° / -22°C |
| January | 69% | 69% | 14.5 h | -29° / -23°C |
| February | 74% | 74% | 11.5 h | -29° / -22°C |
| March | 78% | 78% | 7.9 h | -26° / -17°C |
| April | 19% | 57% | 1.4 h | -15° / -6°C |
Darkness through the year
- No full darkness (Sun 12° below the horizon) from 13 April to 29 August — the sky stays too bright for most auroras.
- Midnight sun from 24 May to 19 July.
- Polar night from 5 December to 6 January: the sun stays below the horizon, giving the longest viewing windows.
- Next new moon 9 November, next full moon 25 October. The darkest skies are in the week around new moon.
Aurora nights in Inuvik since 1995
Nights when Kp reached 4.7 or more while it was dark here.
Most recent strong nights
- 4 October 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 3 October 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 7 September 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 18 April 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 17 April 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 2 April 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 1 April 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 24 March 2026 · Kp 5.0
Where to watch near Inuvik
-
Jàk Territorial Park
Territorial park on the Dempster Highway just south of town, away from street lights. · about 6 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway (north of town)
Highway heading north onto open tundra with a clear northern horizon. · about 8 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Gwich'in Territorial Park (Campbell Lake)
Lakeside territorial park on the Dempster Highway with dark skies over Campbell Lake. · about 39 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
Local knowledge
- Inuvik lies about 200 km north of the Arctic Circle and has around 56 days of midnight sun, so aurora viewing is limited to the darker months, roughly late August to April.
- The town has about 30 days of polar night in December and January, giving long dark hours for viewing.
- The Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway, open year-round since November 2017, runs 138 km to the Arctic Ocean across open tundra away from town lights.
- Local operators run guided winter aurora tours, including trips along the Mackenzie River.
- January averages lows around -31 C, so dress in full Arctic clothing.
The Dempster Highway crosses the Peel and Mackenzie rivers by ferry (about June to October) and ice bridge (about late November to April); between those seasons road access to Inuvik is cut, so check GNWT road and ferry updates.
Stop only at safe pull-outs; the highways are gravel, weather changes quickly and wildlife can appear on the road.
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Inuvik Mike Zubko Airport (YEV) · 12 km
- Typical low / high in March
- -26° / -17°C
- What to wear
- Extreme cold: insulated boots, down jacket, two layers of wool, face protection, chemical hand warmers. Full clothing guide
- Emergency number
- 911
- Winter driving
- Rules are provincial: Québec requires winter tyres (mountain-snowflake symbol or studded) on Québec-registered vehicles Dec 1–Mar 15, and BC requires winter tyres or chains on signed routes Oct 1–Mar 31 (to Apr 30 on mountain passes/high-snowfall routes); road conditions via 511 Yukon (511yukon.ca), DriveNWT (drivenwt.ca), 511 Alberta, Manitoba 511 (manitoba511.ca) and DriveBC. Road conditions
- Access to land
- There is no national right to roam; private land requires the owner's permission, while national/provincial parks and Crown land are generally accessible subject to park rules, which vary by province and territory.
- Official space-weather service
- Space Weather Canada (Natural Resources Canada)
- Weather service
- Environment and Climate Change Canada (weather.gc.ca)
Questions and answers
What Kp do you need to see the aurora in Inuvik?
Inuvik sits right under the auroral oval: on clear, dark nights the aurora is often overhead, even when activity is quiet. Clouds matter far more than the Kp number here.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Inuvik?
Around Inuvik the aurora is often right overhead. Start by facing north-north-east, but look up and all around — in strong storms it can fill the whole sky and even appear behind you.
What is the best month to see the aurora in Inuvik?
Over 2005–2025, March gave the best odds in Inuvik (78% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by February (74%).
When is the aurora season in Inuvik?
From 13 April to 29 August the sky in Inuvik never gets dark enough. Outside that period the aurora can be seen whenever activity and clouds allow.
Is there much light pollution in Inuvik?
Some sky glow from nearby lights. Moderate displays are fine; faint ones are easier a few kilometres out. A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the north-west.
When was the aurora last possible in Inuvik?
Activity last reached storm level (Kp 5 or more) during darkness in Inuvik on 4 October 2026 (Kp 5.0) — 653 such nights since 1995. Here the aurora also appears on many quieter nights.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Inuvik share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Inuvik Region 1 km
- Inuvik 5 km
- Inuvik 5 km