Aurora destinations · Alaska & Canada
Northern lights in Yellowknife
Northwest Territories, Canada · 62.45°N, 114.37°W
Yellowknife lies under the auroral oval, so aurora is often overhead: a dark, clear night has good odds even when activity is low (magnetic latitude 69°). Light pollution: there is some town glow.
Open the live forecast for Yellowknife
At a glance
- Good odds: from any Kp at a dark site
- Best months: March, February and January
- Best weeks in the coming year: 2–15 Feb · 23 Feb – 15 Mar · 23 Mar – 5 Apr
- Too light for aurora: 18 May – 26 Jul (bright nights)
Month by month
A typical night: real darkness and moon, average aurora activity (Kp 2014–2025) and satellite cloud cover (NASA, 2001–2025). Long-range odds, not a forecast.
| Month | Typical night | Clear sky | Dark hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 23% | 44% | 15 h |
| February | 26% | 49% | 13 h |
| March | 27% | 50% | 9 h |
| April | 21% | 41% | 6 h |
| May | 6% | 34% | 1 h |
| June | Too light | 35% | – |
| July | 3% | 32% | – |
| August | 17% | 35% | 5 h |
| September | 17% | 32% | 9 h |
| October | 10% | 19% | 12 h |
| November | 13% | 25% | 14 h |
| December | 22% | 42% | 16 h |
Tips for Yellowknife
- Clouds decide most nights: check the hour-by-hour forecast, and the “Clearer skies nearby” card for a spot within a drive.
- Aurora is usually best between about 22:00 and 02:00 local time; give your eyes 15 minutes in the dark.
- Get away from the town lights: even 10–20 km makes a difference.
Nearby destinations
Fairbanks · Coldfoot · Anchorage · Whitehorse · Churchill · Banff