Canada · 7 towns
Aurora towns in Saskatchewan
Answer
Where the towns sit
The widest gap in the dipole ranking falls between Yorkton and Regina, 1.0 degrees. 4 neighbouring pairs sit within 0.5 degrees of each other, close enough that the order between them means little.
Of the 7 indexed towns in Saskatchewan, 1 sit at 60 degrees geomagnetic or more, in or poleward of SWPC's 60 to 75 degree band, where no storm is needed; 6 sit between 55 and 60 degrees, where G1 (Kp 5) or less usually brings aurora into view.
Ranked by geomagnetic latitude
| Rank | Town | Value |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prince Albert | 60.6° |
| 2 | North Battleford | 59.9° |
| 3 | Saskatoon | 59.4° |
| 4 | Yorkton | 58.9° |
| 5 | Regina | 58.0° |
| 6 | Moose Jaw | 57.8° |
| 7 | Swift Current | 57.5° |
Ranked by December darkness
On December 15 the median town gets 14.7 hours of civil night, against 14.2 nationally. Prince Albert has the most at 14.9 hours and Regina the least at 14.6. Every town keeps some civil darkness through the June solstice.
| Rank | Town | Value |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prince Albert | 14.9 h |
| 2 | North Battleford | 14.9 h |
| 3 | Saskatoon | 14.8 h |
| 4 | Yorkton | 14.7 h |
| 5 | Regina | 14.6 h |
| 6 | Moose Jaw | 14.6 h |
| 7 | Swift Current | 14.6 h |
Ranked by clear dark season
NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology puts median cloud amount in the dark months at 63%, against 67% nationally. Swift Current is clearest at 63% and Prince Albert cloudiest at 66%. These are all-hours averages for 1 degree cells, not forecasts.
| Rank | Town | Value |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Swift Current | 63% |
| 2 | Yorkton | 63% |
| 3 | Regina | 63% |
| 4 | Moose Jaw | 63% |
| 5 | Saskatoon | 64% |
| 6 | North Battleford | 64% |
| 7 | Prince Albert | 66% |
Multiplying civil night by the clear share of the sky, January comes out best for 4 of the 7 towns and September for 3. SWPC notes a tendency toward larger storms near the equinoxes, which this score does not include.
Every town
| Town | Dipole | Storm needed | Dec 15 night | Dark-month cloud | Best month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prince Albert | 60.6° | none | 14.9 h | 66% | Jan |
| North Battleford | 59.9° | G1 or less | 14.9 h | 64% | Jan |
| Saskatoon | 59.4° | G1 or less | 14.8 h | 64% | Jan |
| Yorkton | 58.9° | G1 or less | 14.7 h | 63% | Jan |
| Regina | 58.0° | G1 or less | 14.6 h | 63% | Sep |
| Moose Jaw | 57.8° | G1 or less | 14.6 h | 63% | Sep |
| Swift Current | 57.5° | G1 or less | 14.6 h | 63% | Sep |
Questions
- Where in Saskatchewan is best for the aurora?
- By geomagnetic latitude, Prince Albert at 60.6°. 1 towns sit at 60 degrees or more, where no storm is needed.
- Which town in Saskatchewan has the longest December night?
- Prince Albert, with 14.9 hours of civil night on December 15.
- Which town in Saskatchewan has the clearest dark season?
- Swift Current, with 63% mean cloud amount in the months with at least 4 hours of civil night (NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020).
- What is the best month for aurora in Saskatchewan?
- January for 4 of 7 towns, by civil night times the clear share of the sky. Each town page gives its own month.
Sources and verification
- GeoNames dump (CC BY 4.0)https://download.geonames.org/export/dump/
- IGRF-14, NOAA NCEIhttps://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/IAGA/vmod/coeffs/igrf14coeffs.txt
- NASA POWER climatologyhttps://power.larc.nasa.gov/docs/services/api/temporal/climatology/
Quoted figures last checked against their sources on 2026-09-30; next review 2026-12-31. Computed figures come from SunCalc and the IGRF-14 dipole as described in the methodology. Every quote is listed in the sources ledger.