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Des Moines · November 2026

Northern lights in Des Moines in November 2026

Answer

November gives Des Moines 13.1 hours of civil night on the 15th, the 3rd darkest of its 12 months, under 57% mean cloud. 1% of November days since 1996 reached Kp 8, enough for the oval edge to reach Des Moines.
13.1 h
civil night, average night
SunCalc for 41.60, -93.61; NASA POWER; GFZ Kp

November against the rest of the year

November cloud at Des Moines averages 57% in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record, close to its yearly mean of 57%. September is Des Moines's clearest month at 44%. By civil night times clear sky, November scores 5.6 hours at Des Moines, 2nd of 12. Minneapolis, 377 km away, averages 63%, cloudier by 6 points.

Civil night at Des Moines starts November at 12 h 36 min and reaches 13 h 29 min by November 30 as the nights lengthen by 0.9 hours. SWPC's 10 PM to 2 AM window is fully dark on every night. True astronomical darkness, the sun 18 degrees down, lasts 10.9 hours on the 15th.

November night by night

November opens toward a new moon on Nov 9, with full moon on Nov 24, in America/Chicago dates. Des Moines gets 206 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: Nov 4 (4 h), Nov 5 (4 h), Nov 6 (4 h).

  1. 1

    46% lit

    5.9 h

  2. 2

    35% lit

    7.2 h

  3. 3

    25% lit

    8.3 h

  4. 4

    16% lit

    9.5 h

  5. 5

    9% lit

    10.6 h

  6. 6

    4% lit

    11.8 h

  7. 7

    1% lit

    12.8 h

  8. 8

    0% lit

    12.8 h

  9. 9

    1% lit

    12.9 h

  10. 10

    4% lit

    12.9 h

  11. 11

    8% lit

    12.3 h

  12. 12

    14% lit

    11.4 h

  13. 13

    21% lit

    10.5 h

  14. 14

    29% lit

    9.5 h

  15. 15

    38% lit

    8.4 h

  16. 16

    48% lit

    7.4 h

  17. 17

    58% lit

    6.3 h

  18. 18

    67% lit

    5.3 h

  19. 19

    77% lit

    4.2 h

  20. 20

    85% lit

    3.0 h

  21. 21

    92% lit

    1.8 h

  22. 22

    97% lit

    0.5 h

  23. 23

    100% lit

    0.0 h

  24. 24

    99% lit

    0.0 h

  25. 25

    96% lit

    0.3 h

  26. 26

    90% lit

    1.4 h

  27. 27

    82% lit

    2.8 h

  28. 28

    72% lit

    4.1 h

  29. 29

    61% lit

    5.3 h

  30. 30

    50% lit

    6.5 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 Novembers

Des Moines needs Kp 8 for the average oval edge to sit overhead. 8 of the 900 November 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 10%. Des Moines sits at 50.1 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.

November across United States

Des Moines ranks 11th in United States for civil night on November 15, behind Fairbanks at 15.5 hours. Coming from October (11.9 hours at Des Moines), November adds darkness, and the nights keep growing into December (13.7 hours on the 15th).

Civil night on November 15 and November cloud, month-page towns in United States
TownCivil nightCloud
Fairbanks15.5 h67%
Anchorage14.9 h70%
Eagle River14.9 h70%
Juneau14.5 h79%
Seattle13.5 h77%
Fargo13.5 h64%
Duluth13.4 h69%
Minneapolis13.3 h63%
Buffalo13.2 h75%
Portland, Maine13.2 h61%
Des Moines13.1 h57%

Darkness and moon, every night

Des Moines, November 2026: each night from local noon to the next noon
NightCivilAstronomicalMoon-free darkMoon-free, 10 PM to 2 AMMoon lit
Sun Nov 112 h 36 min10 h 26 min5 h 56 min1 h 36 min46%
Mon Nov 212 h 38 min10 h 28 min7 h 10 min2 h 49 min35%
Tue Nov 312 h 40 min10 h 30 min8 h 21 min3 h 59 min25%
Wed Nov 412 h 42 min10 h 32 min9 h 30 min4 h16%
Thu Nov 512 h 45 min10 h 34 min10 h 38 min4 h9%
Fri Nov 612 h 47 min10 h 36 min11 h 46 min4 h4%
Sat Nov 712 h 49 min10 h 38 min12 h 49 min4 h1%
Sun Nov 812 h 51 min10 h 40 min12 h 51 min4 h0%
Mon Nov 912 h 53 min10 h 42 min12 h 53 min4 h1%
Tue Nov 1012 h 55 min10 h 44 min12 h 55 min4 h4%
Wed Nov 1112 h 57 min10 h 46 min12 h 17 min4 h8%
Thu Nov 1212 h 59 min10 h 47 min11 h 25 min4 h14%
Fri Nov 1313 h 1 min10 h 49 min10 h 28 min4 h21%
Sat Nov 1413 h 3 min10 h 51 min9 h 28 min4 h29%
Sun Nov 1513 h 5 min10 h 53 min8 h 25 min3 h 53 min38%
Mon Nov 1613 h 7 min10 h 54 min7 h 22 min2 h 49 min48%
Tue Nov 1713 h 9 min10 h 56 min6 h 19 min1 h 45 min58%
Wed Nov 1813 h 11 min10 h 58 min5 h 16 min40 min67%
Thu Nov 1913 h 13 min10 h 59 min4 h 10 min0 min77%
Fri Nov 2013 h 14 min11 h 1 min3 h 1 min0 min85%
Sat Nov 2113 h 16 min11 h 2 min1 h 48 min0 min92%
Sun Nov 2213 h 18 min11 h 4 min31 min0 min97%
Mon Nov 2313 h 19 min11 h 5 min0 min0 min100%
Tue Nov 2413 h 21 min11 h 6 min0 min0 min99%
Wed Nov 2513 h 22 min11 h 8 min15 min0 min96%
Thu Nov 2613 h 24 min11 h 9 min1 h 27 min0 min90%
Fri Nov 2713 h 25 min11 h 10 min2 h 45 min0 min82%
Sat Nov 2813 h 26 min11 h 11 min4 h 4 min0 min72%
Sun Nov 2913 h 28 min11 h 13 min5 h 20 min40 min61%
Mon Nov 3013 h 29 min11 h 14 min6 h 33 min1 h 52 min50%
Moon lit: SunCalc illuminated fraction at the middle of the 10 PM to 2 AM window.

Questions

Can you see the northern lights in Des Moines in November?
On dark, clear nights with enough activity. 30 of 30 nights at Des Moines have civil darkness, and 1% of past November days reached Kp 8.
How dark is Des Moines in November?
Des Moines averages 13.1 hours of civil night a night in November 2026, from 12 h 36 min on the 1st to 13 h 29 min on the last night.
How cloudy is Des Moines in November?
NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology gives Des Moines's 1 degree cell 57% mean cloud in November, against 57% for the whole year. It is an all-hours average, not a forecast.
What is the best night in November 2026 for aurora in Des Moines?
By darkness and moon alone, Nov 4, with 4 h of moon-free darkness inside 10 PM to 2 AM at Des Moines. Activity on that date will only be known hours ahead.
Is November or December better in Des Moines?
By civil night times the clear share, November scores 5.6 hours at Des Moines and December 4.9. November 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.