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Northern lights in Yellowknife

Current conditions for Yellowknife, the latitude maths behind them and where to stand.

Kp index now

1.67Quiet

NOAA estimate at 23:31 UTC

Aurora chance in Yellowknife

2%

NOAA OVATION for 00:23 UTC

Cloud cover

100%Mostly cloudy

MET Norway, around 17:34 local time

Sky

Too light

Sun at 4° over Yellowknife

Yellowknife is inside the oval even at Kp 0.

Next 36 hours in Yellowknife

  1. Fri 16 Oct, 17:00: Too light
  2. Fri 16 Oct, 18:00: Too light
  3. Fri 16 Oct, 19:00: Too light
  4. Fri 16 Oct, 20:00: Dark but cloudy
  5. Fri 16 Oct, 21:00: Dark but cloudy
  6. Fri 16 Oct, 22:00: Dark but cloudy
  7. Fri 16 Oct, 23:00: Dark, clear, Kp high enough
  8. Sat 17 Oct, 00:00: Dark, clear, Kp high enough
  9. Sat 17 Oct, 01:00: Dark, clear, Kp high enough
  10. Sat 17 Oct, 02:00: Dark, clear, Kp high enough
  11. Sat 17 Oct, 03:00: Dark, clear, Kp high enough
  12. Sat 17 Oct, 04:00: Dark, clear, Kp high enough
  13. Sat 17 Oct, 05:00: Dark but cloudy
  14. Sat 17 Oct, 06:00: Dark but cloudy
  15. Sat 17 Oct, 07:00: Too light
  16. Sat 17 Oct, 08:00: Too light
  17. Sat 17 Oct, 09:00: Too light
  18. Sat 17 Oct, 10:00: Too light
  19. Sat 17 Oct, 11:00: Too light
  20. Sat 17 Oct, 12:00: Too light
  21. Sat 17 Oct, 13:00: Too light
  22. Sat 17 Oct, 14:00: Too light
  23. Sat 17 Oct, 15:00: Too light
  24. Sat 17 Oct, 16:00: Too light
  25. Sat 17 Oct, 17:00: Too light
  26. Sat 17 Oct, 18:00: Too light
  27. Sat 17 Oct, 19:00: Too light
  28. Sat 17 Oct, 20:00: Dark but cloudy
  29. Sat 17 Oct, 21:00: Dark, clear, Kp high enough
  30. Sat 17 Oct, 22:00: Dark, clear, Kp high enough
  31. Sat 17 Oct, 23:00: Dark, clear, Kp high enough
  32. Sun 18 Oct, 00:00: Dark, clear, Kp high enough
  33. Sun 18 Oct, 01:00: Dark, clear, Kp high enough
  34. Sun 18 Oct, 02:00: Dark, clear, Kp high enough
  35. Sun 18 Oct, 03:00: Dark, clear, Kp high enough
  36. Sun 18 Oct, 04:00: Dark but cloudy
  • Dark, clear, Kp high enough
  • Dark and clear, Kp too low
  • Dark but cloudy
  • Too light
  • No forecast

Best stretch: Sat 17 Oct, 21:00 to 04:00, 7 h.

Hours are local time in Yellowknife.

Rule of thumb: sun below −12°, cloud cover at or under 40 % and forecast Kp of 0 or more.

Kp: last day and 3-day forecast

035792026-10-15 21:00 UTC · Kp 2.332026-10-16 00:00 UTC · Kp 3.33Fri 162026-10-16 03:00 UTC · Kp 22026-10-16 06:00 UTC · Kp 1.672026-10-16 09:00 UTC · Kp 2.332026-10-16 12:00 UTC · Kp 1.672026-10-16 15:00 UTC · Kp 3.332026-10-16 18:00 UTC · Kp 3.672026-10-16 21:00 UTC · Kp 2.672026-10-17 00:00 UTC · Kp 4Sat 172026-10-17 03:00 UTC · Kp 3.332026-10-17 06:00 UTC · Kp 22026-10-17 09:00 UTC · Kp 1.332026-10-17 12:00 UTC · Kp 1.332026-10-17 15:00 UTC · Kp 1.332026-10-17 18:00 UTC · Kp 22026-10-17 21:00 UTC · Kp 1.672026-10-18 00:00 UTC · Kp 1.67Sun 182026-10-18 03:00 UTC · Kp 1.672026-10-18 06:00 UTC · Kp 1.332026-10-18 09:00 UTC · Kp 1.332026-10-18 12:00 UTC · Kp 1.332026-10-18 15:00 UTC · Kp 1.332026-10-18 18:00 UTC · Kp 1.332026-10-18 21:00 UTC · Kp 1.672026-10-19 00:00 UTC · Kp 1.67Mon 19G1 storm (Kp 5)
  • Observed or estimated
  • NOAA forecast
  • Kp needed in Yellowknife
  • G1 storm (Kp 5)

Highest forecast Kp in the next 3 days: 4.0

Days in UTC

Data fetched 2026-10-16 23:34 UTC. NOAA SWPC for Kp and OVATION, MET Norway for clouds.

Yellowknife in numbers

Country
Canada
Latitude
62.5° N
Geomagnetic latitude (approx.)
68.5° N
Oval reaches the place from
Kp 0
Arctic Circle
457 km south of it
Time zone
America/Yellowknife
OVATION chance now
2%

Hours of darkness through the year

Hours with the sun below −12° on the 15th of each month, calculated for Yellowknife. Aurora needs a dark sky; this is the limit before any cloud or Kp.

Hours of darkness through the year
Month Dark hours
January 14.1
February 11.8
March 9.2
April 5.3
May None
June None
July None
August 2.3
September 7.4
October 10.6
November 13.2
December 14.7

Yellowknife is the capital of Canada's Northwest Territories, on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake near the outlet of the Yellowknife River. Visitors come in winter for the cold, the frozen lake and the aurora.

It is the furthest south of the six places by geographic latitude and still one of the best by the aurora arithmetic. Yellowknife is on the same side of the Arctic as the geomagnetic pole, so its geomagnetic latitude is high and the oval does not have to be pushed far south to reach it.

Where to watch

  • The shore of Yellowknife Bay and the lake give a wide, flat northern horizon. In winter the ice is a plain surface that reflects starlight, but never walk on it without local knowledge of the thickness.
  • Fred Henne Territorial Park, on Long Lake near the airport, has a lakeshore with a wide view. Check winter access before you go.
  • The Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre, the territory's museum, is a good daytime stop and a way to learn about the people and land before a night out.

Getting there and getting around

Yellowknife Airport has scheduled flights from Edmonton, Calgary and other Canadian cities. The town is compact, but the best viewing areas are a short drive out. Winter aurora tours run from the town and typically include transport and a heated shelter.

Local conditions

The interior continental climate gives cold, dry winter air and often clear skies, but also very low temperatures. At −25 °C and below, phones, cameras and lens heaters fail faster than you expect. Keep spare batteries against your body and bring chemical hand warmers.

Time zone: Yellowknife uses Mountain Time. All hours on Aurorix are shown in the place's own time, so a late evening here is early morning in Scandinavia.

Reading the numbers for Yellowknife

The darkness table shows the first dark hours already in August, about a month earlier than Tromsø, because Yellowknife is more than seven degrees further south. That makes the dark season longer here than at any of the Nordic places and gives it a head start in late summer.

Sources

Other destinations

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