Northern lights in Fairbanks in December

A solid choice — 37% of December nights offer a real viewing window.

The numbers behind it: December nights in Fairbanks average about 12 dark hours, geomagnetic activity reaches local viewing levels on 70% of days, and 53% of nights offer at least one reasonably clear hour after dark.

Neither clouds nor solar activity dominates — December failures are usually bad single-night luck. Several nights in a row is the honest insurance policy.

Numbers come from 1996–2025 Kp records (GFZ Potsdam) and 2015–2024 hourly cloud history for Fairbanks itself — the full method is on the methodology page. Travelling soon? Check tonight's live Fairbanks forecast.

December against the rest of the year

1. Jan53% of nights
2. Feb50% of nights
3. Mar45% of nights
4. Apr42% of nights
5. Maymidnight sun
6. Junmidnight sun
7. Julmidnight sun
8. Aug13% of nights
9. Sep36% of nights
10. Oct39% of nights
11. Nov35% of nights
12. Dec37% of nights

November in Fairbanks · January in Fairbanks · full year overview

December elsewhere under the oval

• Yellowknife 47% of nights
• Reykjavík 31% of nights
• Kiruna 29% of nights
• Lofoten Islands 27% of nights
• Tromsø 21% of nights
• Rovaniemi 15% of nights
• Abisko 13% of nights