3-day Kp forecast (NOAA SWPC)
5-day night cloud cover (Open-Meteo)
Average night cloud cover (10pm-3am local)
Auroral oval map
Best months
| Month | Probability | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| September | High | Equinox, nights start to lengthen |
| October | Very high | Often clear skies, growing darkness |
| November | Very high | Long nights, moderate cold |
| December | High | Longest nights, sometimes overcast |
| January | Very high | Extreme cold, excellent contrast |
| February | Very high | Atmospheric stability |
| March | High | Equinox, last practical month |
Complete guide: aurora in Canada (Yellowknife)
Yellowknife, capital of Canada's Northwest Territories, is one of the few places on Earth where tour operators advertise over 95% aurora probability across a 3-night visit during the season. Although its geographic latitude (62.45 N) is similar to southern Iceland, its geomagnetic latitude is very high (~69 N) because the magnetic north pole sits nearby in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. That means Kp 1 already puts aurora overhead on almost every clear night.
Getting there: flights from Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver with Air Canada and Westjet. YZF Airport is 5 km from downtown. There is also service from Ottawa. Otherwise, rent a 4x4 and drive 1,500 km up the Mackenzie Highway from Edmonton, a summer-only adventure.
Best spots: Aurora Village (25 minutes from downtown, with heated teepees), Prelude Lake, Cameron Falls, Vee Lake, Madeline Lake. Almost any road outside the city works when Kp is high, since darkness is absolute and the frozen lakes act as mirrors.
Light pollution: minimal. Yellowknife has 20,000 inhabitants and in 10 minutes you are in the tundra and boreal forest with no light.
Typical lodging: downtown hotels (Explorer, Chateau Nova, Days Inn), lakeside cabins, traditional heated teepees. Nights are very cold: -25 C January average with -40 C lows. Layer up, bring a face mask and heated gloves. Season runs mid-November to mid-April, with a short second peak in late August.