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Cedar Rapids · October 2026

Northern lights in Cedar Rapids in October 2026

Answer

October gives Cedar Rapids 11.9 hours of civil night on the 15th, the 5th darkest of its 12 months, under 58% mean cloud. 1% of October days since 1996 reached Kp 8, enough for the oval edge to reach Cedar Rapids.
11.9 h
civil night, average night
SunCalc for 42.01, -91.64; NASA POWER; GFZ Kp

October against the rest of the year

October cloud at Cedar Rapids averages 58% in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record, close to its yearly mean of 59%. September is Cedar Rapids's clearest month at 46%. By civil night times clear sky, October scores 5.0 hours at Cedar Rapids, 2nd of 12. Minneapolis, 355 km away, averages 59%, cloudier by 1 points.

Civil night at Cedar Rapids starts October at 11 h 16 min and reaches 12 h 34 min by October 31 as the nights lengthen by 1.3 hours. SWPC's 10 PM to 2 AM window is fully dark on every night. True astronomical darkness, the sun 18 degrees down, lasts 9.8 hours on the 15th.

October night by night

October opens toward a new moon on Oct 10, with full moon on Oct 25, in America/Chicago dates. Cedar Rapids gets 184 hours of civil night with the moon below the horizon across the month. The best of them for moon-free darkness inside 10 PM to 2 AM: Oct 5 (4 h), Oct 6 (4 h), Oct 7 (4 h).

  1. 1

    65% lit

    2.5 h

  2. 2

    54% lit

    3.6 h

  3. 3

    43% lit

    4.8 h

  4. 4

    32% lit

    6.1 h

  5. 5

    22% lit

    7.4 h

  6. 6

    13% lit

    8.7 h

  7. 7

    7% lit

    9.9 h

  8. 8

    2% lit

    11.1 h

  9. 9

    0% lit

    11.6 h

  10. 10

    0% lit

    11.7 h

  11. 11

    3% lit

    11.7 h

  12. 12

    7% lit

    11.7 h

  13. 13

    13% lit

    11.1 h

  14. 14

    20% lit

    10.5 h

  15. 15

    28% lit

    9.7 h

  16. 16

    36% lit

    8.8 h

  17. 17

    46% lit

    7.8 h

  18. 18

    55% lit

    6.8 h

  19. 19

    65% lit

    5.7 h

  20. 20

    74% lit

    4.6 h

  21. 21

    82% lit

    3.5 h

  22. 22

    89% lit

    2.4 h

  23. 23

    95% lit

    1.3 h

  24. 24

    99% lit

    0.1 h

  25. 25

    100% lit

    0.0 h

  26. 26

    98% lit

    0.0 h

  27. 27

    94% lit

    0.2 h

  28. 28

    87% lit

    1.1 h

  29. 29

    79% lit

    2.1 h

  30. 30

    68% lit

    3.3 h

  31. 31

    57% lit

    4.6 h

Each cell is the night that starts on that date. Hours are civil-dark time with the moon below the horizon; the green rule scales with them. Green outline: new moon. Bone outline: full moon.

Activity in past Octobers

Cedar Rapids needs Kp 8 for the average oval edge to sit overhead. 6 of the 930 October days from 1996 to 2025 (1%) reached it in the GFZ Potsdam record, one of the three most active months for that level; storm days with Kp 5 or more made up 12%. Cedar Rapids sits at 50.6 degrees geomagnetic. The lowest NOAA storm level whose typical viewing latitude reaches it is G3 (Kp = 7). By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead only at Kp 8.

October across United States

Cedar Rapids ranks 9th in United States for civil night on October 15, behind Fairbanks at 12.5 hours. Coming from September (10.5 hours at Cedar Rapids), October adds darkness, and the nights keep growing into November (13.1 hours on the 15th).

Civil night on October 15 and October cloud, month-page towns in United States
TownCivil nightCloud
Fairbanks12.5 h77%
Anchorage12.4 h77%
Eagle River12.4 h77%
Juneau12.3 h81%
Seattle12.0 h68%
Minneapolis12.0 h59%
Duluth12.0 h64%
Fargo12.0 h60%
Cedar Rapids11.9 h58%
Buffalo11.9 h70%
Portland, Maine11.9 h59%

Darkness and moon, every night

Cedar Rapids, October 2026: each night from local noon to the next noon
NightCivilAstronomicalMoon-free darkMoon-free, 10 PM to 2 AMMoon lit
Thu Oct 111 h 16 min9 h 6 min2 h 29 min0 min65%
Fri Oct 211 h 19 min9 h 9 min3 h 35 min52 min54%
Sat Oct 311 h 21 min9 h 11 min4 h 49 min2 h 4 min43%
Sun Oct 411 h 24 min9 h 14 min6 h 7 min3 h 21 min32%
Mon Oct 511 h 27 min9 h 17 min7 h 25 min4 h22%
Tue Oct 611 h 30 min9 h 20 min8 h 40 min4 h13%
Wed Oct 711 h 32 min9 h 23 min9 h 52 min4 h7%
Thu Oct 811 h 35 min9 h 26 min11 h 3 min4 h2%
Fri Oct 911 h 38 min9 h 28 min11 h 38 min4 h0%
Sat Oct 1011 h 41 min9 h 31 min11 h 41 min4 h0%
Sun Oct 1111 h 43 min9 h 34 min11 h 43 min4 h3%
Mon Oct 1211 h 46 min9 h 37 min11 h 40 min4 h7%
Tue Oct 1311 h 49 min9 h 39 min11 h 8 min4 h13%
Wed Oct 1411 h 51 min9 h 42 min10 h 29 min4 h20%
Thu Oct 1511 h 54 min9 h 45 min9 h 42 min4 h28%
Fri Oct 1611 h 57 min9 h 47 min8 h 49 min3 h 58 min36%
Sat Oct 1711 h 59 min9 h 50 min7 h 50 min2 h 58 min46%
Sun Oct 1812 h 2 min9 h 52 min6 h 47 min1 h 54 min55%
Mon Oct 1912 h 5 min9 h 55 min5 h 43 min49 min65%
Tue Oct 2012 h 7 min9 h 58 min4 h 38 min0 min74%
Wed Oct 2112 h 10 min10 h3 h 33 min0 min82%
Thu Oct 2212 h 12 min10 h 3 min2 h 26 min0 min89%
Fri Oct 2312 h 15 min10 h 5 min1 h 17 min0 min95%
Sat Oct 2412 h 17 min10 h 7 min5 min0 min99%
Sun Oct 2512 h 20 min10 h 10 min0 min0 min100%
Mon Oct 2612 h 22 min10 h 12 min0 min0 min98%
Tue Oct 2712 h 25 min10 h 15 min11 min0 min94%
Wed Oct 2812 h 27 min10 h 17 min1 h 3 min0 min87%
Thu Oct 2912 h 30 min10 h 19 min2 h 7 min0 min79%
Fri Oct 3012 h 32 min10 h 21 min3 h 20 min0 min68%
Sat Oct 3112 h 34 min10 h 24 min4 h 38 min1 h 11 min57%
Moon lit: SunCalc illuminated fraction at the middle of the 10 PM to 2 AM window.

Questions

Can you see the northern lights in Cedar Rapids in October?
On dark, clear nights with enough activity. 31 of 31 nights at Cedar Rapids have civil darkness, and 1% of past October days reached Kp 8.
How dark is Cedar Rapids in October?
Cedar Rapids averages 11.9 hours of civil night a night in October 2026, from 11 h 16 min on the 1st to 12 h 34 min on the last night.
How cloudy is Cedar Rapids in October?
NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology gives Cedar Rapids's 1 degree cell 58% mean cloud in October, against 59% for the whole year. It is an all-hours average, not a forecast.
What is the best night in October 2026 for aurora in Cedar Rapids?
By darkness and moon alone, Oct 5, with 4 h of moon-free darkness inside 10 PM to 2 AM at Cedar Rapids. Activity on that date will only be known hours ahead.
Is October or November better in Cedar Rapids?
By civil night times the clear share, October scores 5.0 hours at Cedar Rapids and November 5.0. October comes out ahead.

Sources and verification

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.