Is February better than January for aurora?

February is closer to the March equinox, which SWPC links to larger storms. January has more darkness at the far-north towns. The table shows the difference town by town.

Which town has the longest nights in February?

Tromsø, with 14 h 3 min of civil night on February 15, 2027, of the 10 Glow towns.

When is the full moon in February 2027?

On February 20, 2027 (UTC date). Local dates can differ by a day.

Does February have an equinox or solstice?

No. The nearest are in December and March.

How many Glow towns are dark in February?

10 of 10 have civil night on February 15, 2027.

Aurora by month · 2027

Northern lights in February

Answer

February nights shorten fast in the far north as the March equinox approaches. On February 15, 2027, Tromsø has the most civil night of the 10 Glow towns at 14 h 3 min, and Buffalo the least at 12 h 21 min. The median is 12.9 hours.

Best destinations in February

Across Glow's 168 month-page towns, Yellowknife scores highest for February at 6.5 clear-dark hours: 13.3 hours of civil night on the 15th with 51% mean cloud. The median town scores 3.1. The score multiplies civil night by the clear share of NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 cloud average; it compares places, it does not forecast.

Top 20 month-page towns for February, by civil night times clear share
Town	Country	Civil night	Cloud	Score
Yellowknife	Canada	13.3 h	51%	6.5 h
Norilsk	Russia	14.0 h	60%	5.6 h
Talnakh	Russia	14.0 h	60%	5.6 h
Winnipeg	Canada	12.6 h	56%	5.5 h
Fairbanks	United States	13.5 h	59%	5.5 h
Anadyr	Russia	13.6 h	60%	5.4 h
Noyabrsk	Russia	13.4 h	60%	5.4 h
Kayyerkan	Russia	14.0 h	62%	5.3 h
Dudinka	Russia	14.0 h	62%	5.3 h
Whitehorse	Canada	13.2 h	61%	5.1 h
Duluth	United States	12.5 h	59%	5.1 h
Fargo	United States	12.5 h	60%	5.0 h
Minneapolis	United States	12.4 h	61%	4.8 h
Portland, Maine	United States	12.4 h	63%	4.6 h
Longyearbyen	Svalbard and Jan Mayen	15.9 h	72%	4.5 h
Fort McMurray	Canada	12.9 h	66%	4.4 h
Lloydminster	Canada	12.8 h	66%	4.4 h
Saskatoon	Canada	12.7 h	66%	4.3 h
Ukhta	Russia	13.4 h	68%	4.3 h
Fort St. John	Canada	12.9 h	67%	4.3 h

All 168 towns in February

February 2027 at 10 towns

Civil night on the 1st, 15th and last night of February 2027, with astronomical night and moon-free darkness on the 15th
Town	Feb 1	Feb 15	Last night	Astronomical, 15th	Moon-free, 15th
Tromsø	15 h 51 min	14 h 3 min	12 h 18 min	9 h 23 min	0 min
Fairbanks	14 h 52 min	13 h 29 min	12 h 7 min	9 h 41 min	0 min
Reykjavik	14 h 47 min	13 h 28 min	12 h 8 min	9 h 46 min	0 min
Yellowknife	14 h 32 min	13 h 19 min	12 h 5 min	9 h 49 min	0 min
Anchorage	14 h 22 min	13 h 13 min	12 h 3 min	9 h 52 min	7 min
Seattle	13 h 12 min	12 h 31 min	11 h 50 min	10 h 8 min	2 h 15 min
Duluth	13 h 9 min	12 h 30 min	11 h 49 min	10 h 9 min	2 h 24 min
Minneapolis	13 h 3 min	12 h 26 min	11 h 48 min	10 h 9 min	2 h 32 min
Portland, Maine	12 h 58 min	12 h 23 min	11 h 47 min	10 h 10 min	2 h 41 min
Buffalo	12 h 56 min	12 h 21 min	11 h 46 min	10 h 9 min	2 h 42 min

Civil night: sun at or below -6 degrees; astronomical: -18. Each town links to its full month page with every night.

What February means for aurora

By February the far-north towns are losing darkness quickly, while the lower 48 towns lose it more slowly. Nights are still long everywhere on Glow, and the March equinox, which SWPC links to a tendency toward larger storms, is only weeks away. Late February combines long nights with the approach of the equinox window.

Tromsø changes fastest across February: 15 h 51 min of civil night on the 1st and 12 h 18 min on the last night, a loss of 3.5 hours.

The moon in February 2027

In UTC dates, the new moon falls on Feb 6 and the full moon on Feb 20. Local dates can differ by a day; each town's month page uses its own time zone.

SWPC says a full moon diminishes the apparent brightness of the aurora. Nights near the new moon give the darkest background. The moon planner shows every night of February for any coordinates, and the moon guide explains how Glow counts moon-free darkness.

Questions

Is February better than January for aurora?: February is closer to the March equinox, which SWPC links to larger storms. January has more darkness at the far-north towns. The table shows the difference town by town.
Which town has the longest nights in February?: Tromsø, with 14 h 3 min of civil night on February 15, 2027, of the 10 Glow towns.
When is the full moon in February 2027?: On February 20, 2027 (UTC date). Local dates can differ by a day.
Does February have an equinox or solstice?: No. The nearest are in December and March.
How many Glow towns are dark in February?: 10 of 10 have civil night on February 15, 2027.

Sources and verification

SunCalchttps://github.com/mourner/suncalc
NOAA SWPC, Tips on viewing the aurorahttps://www.spaceweather.gov/content/tips-viewing-aurora
NOAA SWPC, Aurorahttps://www.swpc.noaa.gov/phenomena/aurora

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.