Northern lights in Alta in November
77%
of 4-night stays in November saw the northern lights at least once, by our estimate. On any one night the chance was 36%. November is a good month in Alta, though January (88%) was better.
How long to stay in November
Chance of at least one good night, by length of stay, Alta in November, 2015–2025. 4 nights got you to about 3 in 4.
In a typical November, the longest run of nights without a single clear, dark hour was 4 nights. A stay shorter than that can fall entirely into one cloudy spell.
Week by week in November (4-night stay)
- 4 Nov – 10 Nov79%
- 11 Nov – 17 Nov81%
- 18 Nov – 24 Nov78%
- 25 Nov – 1 Dec72%
November in Alta, year by year
Good nights in November, each year 2015–2025. The typical November had 9 good nights; the worst, 2018, had 4 and the best, 2023, had 19. 2023–2025, around the solar maximum, averaged 17 against 9 before.
A good night = at least one hour that was dark (sun below −12°), mostly clear (NASA POWER cloud data, calibrated on FMI weather stations) and had a Kp index at or above the Kp 0.9 that Alta needs (GFZ Potsdam). These are estimates, not sightings. How it works
Other destinations in November
Alta ranks 5th of 21 popular aurora destinations for November (4-night stays, 2015–2025).
Churchill
94%Yellowknife
91%Kilpisjärvi
79%Abisko
77%Lofoten
73%Fairbanks
71%Aurora tours in Alta in November
A guide with a car can drive to wherever the clouds break. With cloudy spells of 4 nights in a typical November, that matters here. Booking for your first night leaves the rest of the stay to try again if it's cloudy.
Alta in November: questions
November is a good month in Alta, though January (88%) was better. In 2015–2025, 77% of 4-night stays in November saw the northern lights at least once, and an average November had 11 good nights (clear, dark and with auroras strong enough) out of 30. These are estimates from NASA cloud records and the Kp index, not sightings.
2 nights gave 56%, 4 nights gave 77%, 7 nights gave 90% odds of at least one good night in November (2015–2025). For about 3-in-4 odds, plan 4 nights or more. In a typical November, the longest run of nights without a single clear, dark hour was 4 nights. A stay shorter than that can fall entirely into one cloudy spell.
About 14.2 hours a night with the sun more than 12° below the horizon, which is dark enough for faint auroras. Of those, 2.9 hours a night were mostly clear on average, and 15 nights in an average November had at least one clear, dark hour.
Auroras can appear any time it's dark, but activity usually peaks around midnight, roughly 22:00 to 02:00. With about 14.2 hours of darkness a night in November, start looking as soon as it's dark and stay out past midnight if you can. The live forecast shows tonight's best hour.