Northern lights in Yellowknife in February
100%
of 4-night stays in February saw the northern lights at least once, by our estimate. On any one night the chance was 86%. February is the best month for the northern lights in Yellowknife by these numbers.
How long to stay in February
Chance of at least one good night, by length of stay, Yellowknife in February, 2015–2025. 1 night got you to about 3 in 4.
Long cloudy spells are rare here in February: in a typical year the longest run of fully cloudy nights was one night.
Week by week in February (4-night stay)
- 29 Jan – 4 Feb100%
- 5 Feb – 11 Feb99%
- 12 Feb – 18 Feb99%
- 19 Feb – 25 Feb100%
- 26 Feb – 3 Mar100%
February in Yellowknife, year by year
Good nights in February, each year 2015–2025. The typical February had 24 good nights; the worst, 2017, had 22 and the best, 2016, had 27.
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 0.4 that Yellowknife needs (GFZ Potsdam). These are estimates, not sightings. How it works
Other destinations in February
Yellowknife ranks 1st of 21 popular aurora destinations for February (4-night stays, 2015–2025).
Churchill
99%Fairbanks
87%Kilpisjärvi
86%Abisko
84%Alta
84%Lofoten
81%Aurora tours in Yellowknife in February
A guide with a car can drive to wherever the clouds break. Booking for your first night leaves the rest of the stay to try again if it's cloudy.
Yellowknife in February: questions
February is the best month for the northern lights in Yellowknife by these numbers. In 2015–2025, 100% of 4-night stays in February saw the northern lights at least once, and an average February had 24 good nights (clear, dark and with auroras strong enough) out of 28. These are estimates from NASA cloud records and the Kp index, not sightings.
2 nights gave 97%, 4 nights gave 100%, 7 nights gave 100% odds of at least one good night in February (2015–2025). For about 3-in-4 odds, plan 1 night or more. Long cloudy spells are rare here in February: in a typical year the longest run of fully cloudy nights was one night.
About 11.8 hours a night with the sun more than 12° below the horizon, which is dark enough for faint auroras. Of those, 8.5 hours a night were mostly clear on average, and 25 nights in an average February 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 11.8 hours of darkness a night in February, start looking as soon as it's dark and stay out past midnight if you can. The live forecast shows tonight's best hour.