Aurora forecast Yellowknife
Northern Lights tonight in Yellowknife, NT
Updated
Aurora possible but mostly cloudy tonight: Kp 3 forecast, skies may clear just before dawn (around 7 am) Yellowknife needs about Kp 0.
Will you see the northern lights from Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada tonight? We combine NOAA's Kp forecast, the OVATION aurora model, cloud cover and the hours of darkness. Times are local (America/Edmonton).
- Kp now
- 2 quiet, estimated
- Max Kp forecast tonight
- 3 quiet
- Kp needed at Yellowknife
- about 0 geomagnetic latitude 68.5°
- Cloud cover tonight
- 77% average lowest 23%
- Dark sky
- 7:30 pm – 7:15 am Sun 12° below the horizon
- Aurora probability in view now
- 6% NOAA OVATION, 30–90 min ahead
- Moon
- 100% lit Full Moon
Tonight in Yellowknife
Yellowknife sits at a geomagnetic latitude of 68.5° N, close to the auroral oval itself, so aurora is possible even on quiet nights (Kp 0–1) whenever the sky is dark and clear. Tonight's NOAA forecast peaks at Kp 3 (quiet) during the dark hours, which is enough for Yellowknife.
Open-Meteo expects about 77% cloud cover on average between 8 pm and 8 am local time, with 1 of 12 dark hours mostly clear (30% cloud or less).
The Moon is 100% illuminated (full moon), bright enough to wash out a faint aurora, so only a stronger display will stand out. For the best view look up: the oval is often overhead or even to the south, from somewhere away from street lights.
Right now NOAA's OVATION model gives up to 6% chance of aurora in the part of the sky visible from Yellowknife. OVATION is a short-range nowcast (30 to 90 minutes ahead), useful for deciding whether to step outside now.
| Local time | Kp forecast | Cloud cover | Aurora chance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 8 pm | 3 | 98% | Active, but cloudy |
| Sun 9 pm | 2 | 100% | Active, but cloudy |
| Sun 10 pm | 2 | 99% | Active, but cloudy |
| Sun 11 pm | 2 | 99% | Active, but cloudy |
| Mon 12 am | 2 | 98% | Active, but cloudy |
| Mon 1 am | 2 | 98% | Active, but cloudy |
| Mon 2 am | 2 | 66% | Good |
| Mon 3 am | 2 | 42% | Good |
| Mon 4 am | 2 | 64% | Good |
| Mon 5 am | 2 | 77% | Active, but cloudy |
| Mon 6 am | 2 | 62% | Good |
| Mon 7 am | 2 | 23% | Good |
3-day Kp forecast
3 of the next 3 days reach the Kp 0 that Yellowknife needs. Kp is a global 0–9 index of geomagnetic activity, issued in 3-hour blocks (UTC); NOAA forecasts beyond 24 hours are uncertain, because storms are triggered by solar eruptions that take 1–3 days to arrive.
| Day (UTC) | Max Kp | Level | Enough for Yellowknife? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-25 | 2 | quiet | Yes |
| 2026-10-26 | 3 | quiet | Yes |
| 2026-10-27 | 1.7 | quiet | Yes |
Why Yellowknife sees aurora on quiet nights
The aurora forms in an oval around the geomagnetic pole, which sits in the Canadian Arctic (about 80.8° N, 72.8° W), not at the geographic pole. That is why North American cities see aurora further south than European cities at the same latitude. At Kp 0 the oval's edge is near 66° geomagnetic; each step of Kp pushes it roughly 2° toward the equator.
At 68.5° geomagnetic, Yellowknife lies under the usual position of the auroral oval: on quiet nights the aurora is often overhead, and during strong storms (Kp 5+) the oval can move equatorward past the city, so the display may then be to the south.
Aurora forecast for nearby cities
More sky and weather
Data: NOAA SWPC (Kp, OVATION), Open-Meteo, GeoNames.