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Fairbanks · April 2027

Northern lights in Fairbanks in April 2027

Answer

April gives Fairbanks 6.6 hours of civil night on the 15th, the 8th darkest of its 12 months, under 59% mean cloud. 12% of April days since 1996 reached storm level, Kp 5.
6.5 h
civil night, average night
SunCalc for 64.84, -147.72; NASA POWER; GFZ Kp

April against the rest of the year

April cloud at Fairbanks averages 59% in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record, 7 points clearer than its yearly mean. March is Fairbanks's clearest month at 51%. By civil night times clear sky, April scores 2.7 hours at Fairbanks, 7th of 12. Eagle River, 402 km away, averages 72%, cloudier by 13 points.

Civil night at Fairbanks starts April at 8 h 26 min and reaches 4 h 16 min by April 30, 4.2 hours shorter. The 10 PM to 2 AM window is fully dark on 6 of 30 nights. The sun never reaches 18 degrees down, so Fairbanks gets no astronomical night in April.

April night by night

April opens toward a new moon on Apr 6, with full moon on Apr 20, in America/Anchorage dates. Fairbanks gets 106 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: Apr 1 (4 h), Apr 2 (4 h), Apr 3 (4 h).

  1. 1

    21% lit

    8.4 h

  2. 2

    14% lit

    8.3 h

  3. 3

    8% lit

    8.2 h

  4. 4

    3% lit

    8.1 h

  5. 5

    1% lit

    7.9 h

  6. 6

    0% lit

    7.8 h

  7. 7

    2% lit

    6.2 h

  8. 8

    7% lit

    3.9 h

  9. 9

    13% lit

    0.0 h

  10. 10

    22% lit

    0.0 h

  11. 11

    32% lit

    0.0 h

  12. 12

    43% lit

    0.0 h

  13. 13

    54% lit

    0.0 h

  14. 14

    66% lit

    0.0 h

  15. 15

    76% lit

    0.0 h

  16. 16

    85% lit

    0.0 h

  17. 17

    92% lit

    0.0 h

  18. 18

    97% lit

    0.0 h

  19. 19

    99% lit

    0.0 h

  20. 20

    100% lit

    0.1 h

  21. 21

    98% lit

    2.4 h

  22. 22

    94% lit

    5.6 h

  23. 23

    88% lit

    5.4 h

  24. 24

    81% lit

    5.3 h

  25. 25

    73% lit

    5.1 h

  26. 26

    64% lit

    5.0 h

  27. 27

    55% lit

    4.8 h

  28. 28

    46% lit

    4.6 h

  29. 29

    36% lit

    4.4 h

  30. 30

    27% lit

    4.3 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 Aprils

Quiet activity already puts the oval edge over Fairbanks, so storm days matter more: 106 of the 900 April days from 1996 to 2025 (12%) reached Kp 5, 4th of 12 months. Fairbanks sits at 65.7 degrees geomagnetic, inside SWPC's 60 to 75 degree band, where aurora can be seen on more than half of all nights. No storm is needed: by SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 1.

April across United States

Fairbanks ranks 10th in United States for civil night on April 15, behind Buffalo at 9.5 hours. Coming from March (10.4 hours at Fairbanks), April loses darkness, and May brings shorter nights (0.0 hours on the 15th).

Civil night on April 15 and April cloud, month-page towns in United States
TownCivil nightCloud
Buffalo9.5 h69%
Portland, Maine9.4 h62%
Minneapolis9.3 h61%
Duluth9.2 h64%
Fargo9.2 h61%
Seattle9.1 h75%
Juneau7.9 h75%
Anchorage7.4 h72%
Eagle River7.4 h72%
Fairbanks6.6 h59%

Darkness and moon, every night

Fairbanks, April 2027: each night from local noon to the next noon
NightCivilAstronomicalMoon-free darkMoon-free, 10 PM to 2 AMMoon lit
Thu Apr 18 h 26 min2 h 51 min8 h 26 min4 h21%
Fri Apr 28 h 19 min2 h 31 min8 h 19 min4 h14%
Sat Apr 38 h 11 min2 h 8 min8 h 11 min4 h8%
Sun Apr 48 h 4 min1 h 41 min8 h 4 min4 h3%
Mon Apr 57 h 56 min1 h 2 min7 h 56 min4 h1%
Tue Apr 67 h 48 min0 min7 h 48 min4 h0%
Wed Apr 77 h 40 min0 min6 h 9 min2 h 26 min2%
Thu Apr 87 h 33 min0 min3 h 55 min17 min7%
Fri Apr 97 h 25 min0 min0 min0 min13%
Sat Apr 107 h 17 min0 min0 min0 min22%
Sun Apr 117 h 9 min0 min0 min0 min32%
Mon Apr 127 h 1 min0 min0 min0 min43%
Tue Apr 136 h 53 min0 min0 min0 min54%
Wed Apr 146 h 44 min0 min0 min0 min66%
Thu Apr 156 h 36 min0 min0 min0 min76%
Fri Apr 166 h 28 min0 min0 min0 min85%
Sat Apr 176 h 19 min0 min0 min0 min92%
Sun Apr 186 h 10 min0 min0 min0 min97%
Mon Apr 196 h 2 min0 min0 min0 min99%
Tue Apr 205 h 53 min0 min8 min8 min100%
Wed Apr 215 h 44 min0 min2 h 22 min2 h 13 min98%
Thu Apr 225 h 35 min0 min5 h 35 min2 h 59 min94%
Fri Apr 235 h 26 min0 min5 h 26 min2 h 54 min88%
Sat Apr 245 h 16 min0 min5 h 16 min2 h 50 min81%
Sun Apr 255 h 7 min0 min5 h 7 min2 h 45 min73%
Mon Apr 264 h 57 min0 min4 h 57 min2 h 40 min64%
Tue Apr 274 h 47 min0 min4 h 47 min2 h 36 min55%
Wed Apr 284 h 37 min0 min4 h 37 min2 h 31 min46%
Thu Apr 294 h 26 min0 min4 h 26 min2 h 26 min36%
Fri Apr 304 h 16 min0 min4 h 16 min2 h 20 min27%
Moon lit: SunCalc illuminated fraction at the middle of the 10 PM to 2 AM window.

Questions

Can you see the northern lights in Fairbanks in April?
On dark, clear nights with enough activity. 30 of 30 nights at Fairbanks have civil darkness, and 12% of past April days reached Kp 5.
How dark is Fairbanks in April?
Fairbanks averages 6.5 hours of civil night a night in April 2027, from 8 h 26 min on the 1st to 4 h 16 min on the last night.
How cloudy is Fairbanks in April?
NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology gives Fairbanks's 1 degree cell 59% mean cloud in April, against 66% for the whole year. It is an all-hours average, not a forecast.
What is the best night in April 2027 for aurora in Fairbanks?
By darkness and moon alone, Apr 1, with 4 h of moon-free darkness inside 10 PM to 2 AM at Fairbanks. Activity on that date will only be known hours ahead.
Is April or May better in Fairbanks?
By civil night times the clear share, April scores 2.7 hours at Fairbanks and May 0.0. April 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.