Northern lights in Yellowknife in January
One of the best months of the year — 54% of January nights offer a real window.
54%of nights offer a window
12 hof darkness per night
98%of days with enough solar activity
55%of nights with a clear hour
The numbers behind it: January nights in Yellowknife average about 12 dark hours, geomagnetic activity reaches local viewing levels on 98% of days, and 55% of nights offer at least one reasonably clear hour after dark.
Neither clouds nor solar activity dominates — January 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 Yellowknife itself — the full method is on the methodology page. Travelling soon? Check tonight's live Yellowknife forecast.
January against the rest of the year
- Jan54% of nights
- Feb65% of nights
- Mar61% of nights
- Apr59% of nights
- May10% of nights
- Junmidnight sun
- Julmidnight sun
- Aug50% of nights
- Sep59% of nights
- Oct41% of nights
- Nov35% of nights
- Dec47% of nights
December in Yellowknife · February in Yellowknife · full year overview