Scotland, United Kingdom
Northern lights in Fort William
Answer
Tonight
Waiting on darkness
It is not civil-dark yet. The next dusk is listed below.
Observed 11:49 UTC, forecast 13:20 UTC, 91 min lead
Clock times in Europe/London
Storm level needed
Fort William sits at 56.82N 5.11W in Scotland, United Kingdom. The IGRF-14 centered dipole puts Fort William at 59.3 degrees geomagnetic latitude, 2.4 degrees closer to the magnetic pole than its map latitude suggests. Fort William sits at 59.3 degrees geomagnetic. By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 4, and aurora is usually visible on the northern horizon at G1 (Kp 5) or less.
"aurora is commonly visible at high latitudes (northern Michigan and Maine)"
The nearest other Glow towns are Inverness (91 km), Greenock (99 km), Stirling (106 km). Inverness sits 0.5 degrees higher on the dipole and needs the same Kp.
Approximate: SWPC calls its Kp to latitude rule an average, and a centered dipole can differ by a degree from fuller field models. How the storm level is matched
The year in darkness
Every night of 2026 at Fort William has some civil darkness; the shortest month sample still has 3.7 hours. Glow's dark season, at least 4 hours of civil night between 18:00 and 06:00, runs from July 5 to June 6 across New Year, 337 days in 2026. Fort William's longest night of the year, Dec 18, has 15 h 28 min of civil night.
Solar midnight at Fort William, when the sun is lowest, falls at 00:16 on local clocks on December 15 and 01:21 on June 15. That is 16 min after midnight in December and 1 h 21 min after midnight in June, the gap set by daylight saving and the equation of time. So at Fort William the darkest hour sits near the middle of SWPC's 10 PM to 2 AM window in winter.
Month by month
| Month | Night | Civil | Cloud | Clear dark | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 14.9 h | 11.7 h | 83% | 2.5 h | |
| Feb | 12.9 h | 10.0 h | 81% | 2.5 h | |
| Mar | 10.8 h | 7.7 h | 79% | 2.3 h | |
| Apr | 8.2 h | 4.1 h | 76% | 2.0 h | |
| May | 5.6 h | 0.0 h | 76% | 1.3 h | |
| Jun | 3.7 h | 0.0 h | 83% | 0.6 h | |
| Jul | 4.7 h | 0.0 h | 83% | 0.8 h | |
| Aug | 7.2 h | 1.8 h | 82% | 1.3 h | |
| Sep | 9.8 h | 6.6 h | 79% | 2.1 h | |
| Oct | 12.2 h | 9.3 h | 79% | 2.6 h | |
| Nov | 14.3 h | 11.3 h | 81% | 2.7 h | |
| Dec | 15.4 h | 12.2 h | 80% | 3.1 hbest |
By the 15th-of-the-month sample, December is the darkest month at Fort William with 15.4 hours of civil night and June the lightest at 3.7. Across the year Fort William gets 3,638 hours of civil night. Astronomical night at Fort William, the sun 18 degrees or more below the horizon, lasts 12.2 hours on December 15.
NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 all-hours climatology puts mean cloud amount for the 1 degree cell around Fort William at 80% across the year, from 76% in April to 83% in January. In the months with at least 4 hours of civil night Fort William averages 80%, against a median of 77% for Glow towns in United Kingdom.
Multiplying civil night by the clear share of the sky gives December the best score, 3.1 hours, ahead of November at 2.7. Fort William's equinox months score 2.3 in March and 2.1 in September, the weeks SWPC links with larger storms.
Kp history
From 1996 to 2025, the GFZ Potsdam record shows a 3-hour Kp of 4 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge over Fort William, on 24% of days. At Fort William's level the share runs from 19% in December to 31% in September, while storm days with Kp 5 or more made up 10%.
Share of UTC days in each calendar month whose highest 3-hour Kp reached Kp 4. Kp history by year
Moon, next 30 nights
Over the 30 nights from Oct 2, the new moon falls on Oct 10 and the full moon on Oct 26, in Europe/London dates. 15 of the 30 nights at Fort William have at least 2 moon-free dark hours inside 10 PM to 2 AM, and Oct 6 has the most at 4 h. Tonight Fort William has 11 h 13 min of civil night, 1 h 32 min of it with the moon down.
- 2
57% lit
1.5 h
- 3
46% lit
3.0 h
- 4
34% lit
4.6 h
- 5
24% lit
6.3 h
- 6
15% lit
7.9 h
- 7
8% lit
9.4 h
- 8
3% lit
10.9 h
- 9
1% lit
11.8 h
- 10
0% lit
11.8 h
- 11
2% lit
11.9 h
- 12
6% lit
12.0 h
- 13
11% lit
12.1 h
- 14
18% lit
12.1 h
- 15
26% lit
11.9 h
- 16
34% lit
11.0 h
- 17
43% lit
9.8 h
- 18
53% lit
8.5 h
- 19
62% lit
7.2 h
- 20
72% lit
5.8 h
- 21
80% lit
4.5 h
- 22
88% lit
3.1 h
- 23
94% lit
1.7 h
- 24
98% lit
0.2 h
- 25
100% lit
0.0 h
- 26
99% lit
0.0 h
- 27
95% lit
0.0 h
- 28
89% lit
0.0 h
- 29
81% lit
0.5 h
- 30
71% lit
1.8 h
- 31
60% lit
3.4 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.
Within United Kingdom
Among the 26 Glow towns in Scotland, Fort William ranks 5th by dipole latitude against a regional median of 58.3 degrees; Isle of Lewis sits highest at 60.8. Among the 105 Glow towns in United Kingdom, Fort William ranks 5th by dipole latitude against a national median of 56.3 degrees; Isle of Lewis sits highest at 60.8. On December 15 Fort William gets 15.4 hours of civil night, 6th longest of 105 in United Kingdom, where the median is 15.0.
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Fort William?
- Fort William sits at 59.3 degrees geomagnetic. By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 4, and aurora is usually visible on the northern horizon at G1 (Kp 5) or less. Clear, dark sky over Fort William still decides it.
- When is it dark enough in Fort William?
- Every night at Fort William has civil darkness. Tonight has 11 h 13 min, and December 15 has 15.4 hours.
- What is the best month for aurora in Fort William?
- December, by civil night at Fort William times the clear share of the sky from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 average.
- How cloudy is Fort William in the dark months?
- About 80% mean cloud amount over Fort William in the months with at least 4 hours of civil night, from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 all-hours climatology.
- How often is activity high enough for Fort William?
- A 3-hour Kp of 4 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge overhead, occurred on 24% of days from 1996 to 2025 in the GFZ Potsdam record.
Nearby and related
Nearest Glow towns
Fort William by month
Region and comparisons