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Coon Rapids · December 2026

Northern lights in Coon Rapids in December 2026

Answer

December gives Coon Rapids 14.0 hours of civil night on the 15th, the darkest month of its year, under 69% mean cloud. 0% of December days since 1996 reached Kp 7, enough for the oval edge to reach Coon Rapids.
14.0 h
civil night, average night
SunCalc for 45.12, -93.29; NASA POWER; GFZ Kp

December against the rest of the year

December cloud at Coon Rapids averages 69% in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record, 10 points cloudier than its yearly mean. July is Coon Rapids's clearest month at 49%. By civil night times clear sky, December scores 4.3 hours at Coon Rapids, 7th of 12. Minneapolis, 16 km away, averages the same 69%.

Civil night at Coon Rapids starts December at 13 h 48 min and reaches 13 h 57 min by December 31 as the nights lengthen by 0.1 hours. SWPC's 10 PM to 2 AM window is fully dark on every night. True astronomical darkness, the sun 18 degrees down, lasts 11.6 hours on the 15th.

December night by night

December opens toward a new moon on Dec 8, with full moon on Dec 23, in America/Chicago dates. Coon Rapids gets 233 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: Dec 2 (4 h), Dec 3 (4 h), Dec 4 (4 h).

  1. 1

    40% lit

    7.8 h

  2. 2

    30% lit

    9.0 h

  3. 3

    21% lit

    10.2 h

  4. 4

    13% lit

    11.3 h

  5. 5

    7% lit

    12.5 h

  6. 6

    3% lit

    13.6 h

  7. 7

    1% lit

    13.9 h

  8. 8

    0% lit

    13.9 h

  9. 9

    1% lit

    13.9 h

  10. 10

    4% lit

    13.5 h

  11. 11

    9% lit

    12.4 h

  12. 12

    15% lit

    11.4 h

  13. 13

    22% lit

    10.3 h

  14. 14

    31% lit

    9.2 h

  15. 15

    40% lit

    8.1 h

  16. 16

    50% lit

    7.0 h

  17. 17

    61% lit

    5.9 h

  18. 18

    71% lit

    4.7 h

  19. 19

    80% lit

    3.4 h

  20. 20

    88% lit

    2.0 h

  21. 21

    95% lit

    0.7 h

  22. 22

    99% lit

    0.0 h

  23. 23

    100% lit

    0.0 h

  24. 24

    98% lit

    0.1 h

  25. 25

    93% lit

    1.6 h

  26. 26

    86% lit

    2.9 h

  27. 27

    77% lit

    4.3 h

  28. 28

    66% lit

    5.5 h

  29. 29

    56% lit

    6.7 h

  30. 30

    45% lit

    7.9 h

  31. 31

    35% lit

    9.0 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 Decembers

Coon Rapids needs Kp 7 for the average oval edge to sit overhead. 2 of the 930 December days from 1996 to 2025 (0%) reached it in the GFZ Potsdam record, one of the three quietest months for that level; storm days with Kp 5 or more made up 5%. Coon Rapids sits at 53.6 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 7.

December across United States

Coon Rapids ranks 8th in United States for civil night on December 15, behind Fairbanks at 17.2 hours. Coming from November (13.3 hours at Coon Rapids), December adds darkness, and January brings shorter nights (13.6 hours on the 15th). The December solstice falls on December 21, 14:49 Coon Rapids time.

Civil night on December 15 and December cloud, month-page towns in United States
TownCivil nightCloud
Fairbanks17.2 h59%
Anchorage16.3 h72%
Eagle River16.3 h72%
Juneau15.7 h80%
Seattle14.3 h79%
Duluth14.2 h71%
Fargo14.2 h68%
Coon Rapids14.0 h69%
Minneapolis14.0 h69%
Portland, Maine13.9 h66%
Buffalo13.8 h85%

Darkness and moon, every night

Coon Rapids, December 2026: each night from local noon to the next noon
NightCivilAstronomicalMoon-free darkMoon-free, 10 PM to 2 AMMoon lit
Tue Dec 113 h 48 min11 h 24 min7 h 50 min2 h 59 min40%
Wed Dec 213 h 49 min11 h 25 min9 h4 h30%
Thu Dec 313 h 50 min11 h 26 min10 h 10 min4 h21%
Fri Dec 413 h 51 min11 h 27 min11 h 19 min4 h13%
Sat Dec 513 h 53 min11 h 28 min12 h 28 min4 h7%
Sun Dec 613 h 54 min11 h 29 min13 h 35 min4 h3%
Mon Dec 713 h 55 min11 h 30 min13 h 55 min4 h1%
Tue Dec 813 h 56 min11 h 30 min13 h 56 min4 h0%
Wed Dec 913 h 56 min11 h 31 min13 h 56 min4 h1%
Thu Dec 1013 h 57 min11 h 32 min13 h 29 min4 h4%
Fri Dec 1113 h 58 min11 h 32 min12 h 26 min4 h9%
Sat Dec 1213 h 59 min11 h 33 min11 h 22 min4 h15%
Sun Dec 1313 h 59 min11 h 34 min10 h 17 min4 h22%
Mon Dec 1414 h11 h 34 min9 h 11 min4 h31%
Tue Dec 1514 h11 h 34 min8 h 6 min2 h 58 min40%
Wed Dec 1614 h 1 min11 h 35 min7 h1 h 51 min50%
Thu Dec 1714 h 1 min11 h 35 min5 h 52 min41 min61%
Fri Dec 1814 h 1 min11 h 35 min4 h 39 min0 min71%
Sat Dec 1914 h 1 min11 h 35 min3 h 22 min0 min80%
Sun Dec 2014 h 1 min11 h 35 min2 h 2 min0 min88%
Mon Dec 2114 h 1 min11 h 35 min42 min0 min95%
Tue Dec 2214 h 1 min11 h 35 min0 min0 min99%
Wed Dec 2314 h 1 min11 h 35 min0 min0 min100%
Thu Dec 2414 h 1 min11 h 35 min8 min0 min98%
Fri Dec 2514 h 1 min11 h 35 min1 h 33 min0 min93%
Sat Dec 2614 h11 h 34 min2 h 56 min0 min86%
Sun Dec 2714 h11 h 34 min4 h 16 min0 min77%
Mon Dec 2813 h 59 min11 h 34 min5 h 31 min46 min66%
Tue Dec 2913 h 59 min11 h 33 min6 h 42 min1 h 58 min56%
Wed Dec 3013 h 58 min11 h 33 min7 h 52 min3 h 9 min45%
Thu Dec 3113 h 57 min11 h 32 min9 h 1 min4 h35%
Moon lit: SunCalc illuminated fraction at the middle of the 10 PM to 2 AM window.

Questions

Can you see the northern lights in Coon Rapids in December?
On dark, clear nights with enough activity. 31 of 31 nights at Coon Rapids have civil darkness, and 0% of past December days reached Kp 7.
How dark is Coon Rapids in December?
Coon Rapids averages 14.0 hours of civil night a night in December 2026, from 13 h 48 min on the 1st to 13 h 57 min on the last night.
How cloudy is Coon Rapids in December?
NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology gives Coon Rapids's 1 degree cell 69% mean cloud in December, against 59% for the whole year. It is an all-hours average, not a forecast.
What is the best night in December 2026 for aurora in Coon Rapids?
By darkness and moon alone, Dec 2, with 4 h of moon-free darkness inside 10 PM to 2 AM at Coon Rapids. Activity on that date will only be known hours ahead.
Is December or January better in Coon Rapids?
By civil night times the clear share, December scores 4.3 hours at Coon Rapids and January 5.3. January 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.