Grand Forks · February 2027
Northern lights in Grand Forks in February 2027
Answer
February against the rest of the year
February cloud at Grand Forks averages 58% in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record, close to its yearly mean of 59%. July is Grand Forks's clearest month at 50%. By civil night times clear sky, February scores 5.3 hours at Grand Forks, 2nd of 12. Fargo, 118 km away, averages 60%, cloudier by 2 points.
Civil night at Grand Forks starts February at 13 h 14 min and reaches 11 h 50 min by February 28, 1.4 hours shorter. SWPC's 10 PM to 2 AM window is fully dark on every night. True astronomical darkness, the sun 18 degrees down, lasts 10.1 hours on the 15th.
February night by night
February opens toward a new moon on Feb 6, with full moon on Feb 20, in America/Chicago dates. Grand Forks gets 186 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: Feb 1 (4 h), Feb 2 (4 h), Feb 3 (4 h).
- 1
17% lit
11.8 h
- 2
10% lit
12.5 h
- 3
5% lit
13.1 h
- 4
2% lit
13.1 h
- 5
0% lit
13.0 h
- 6
0% lit
13.0 h
- 7
2% lit
12.2 h
- 8
6% lit
11.1 h
- 9
12% lit
9.9 h
- 10
19% lit
8.7 h
- 11
28% lit
7.4 h
- 12
38% lit
6.1 h
- 13
49% lit
4.8 h
- 14
60% lit
3.5 h
- 15
71% lit
2.3 h
- 16
81% lit
1.4 h
- 17
90% lit
0.6 h
- 18
96% lit
0.1 h
- 19
99% lit
0.0 h
- 20
100% lit
0.0 h
- 21
98% lit
0.8 h
- 22
93% lit
2.1 h
- 23
86% lit
3.4 h
- 24
78% lit
4.7 h
- 25
69% lit
5.9 h
- 26
60% lit
7.1 h
- 27
50% lit
8.2 h
- 28
40% lit
9.1 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 Februarys
Grand Forks needs Kp 5 for the average oval edge to sit overhead. 67 of the 848 February days from 1996 to 2025 (8%) 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 8%. Grand Forks sits at 56.1 degrees geomagnetic. By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 5, and aurora is usually visible on the northern horizon at G1 (Kp 5) or less.
February across United States
Grand Forks ranks 5th in United States for civil night on February 15, behind Fairbanks at 13.5 hours. Coming from January (13.9 hours at Grand Forks), February loses darkness, and March brings shorter nights (11.0 hours on the 15th).
| Town | Civil night | Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| Fairbanks | 13.5 h | 59% |
| Anchorage | 13.2 h | 69% |
| Eagle River | 13.2 h | 69% |
| Juneau | 13.0 h | 75% |
| Grand Forks | 12.5 h | 58% |
| Seattle | 12.5 h | 74% |
| Duluth | 12.5 h | 59% |
| Fargo | 12.5 h | 60% |
| Minneapolis | 12.4 h | 61% |
| Buffalo | 12.4 h | 82% |
| Portland, Maine | 12.4 h | 63% |
Darkness and moon, every night
| Night | Civil | Astronomical | Moon-free dark | Moon-free, 10 PM to 2 AM | Moon lit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon Feb 1 | 13 h 14 min | 10 h 47 min | 11 h 51 min | 4 h | 17% |
| Tue Feb 2 | 13 h 11 min | 10 h 45 min | 12 h 31 min | 4 h | 10% |
| Wed Feb 3 | 13 h 8 min | 10 h 42 min | 13 h 3 min | 4 h | 5% |
| Thu Feb 4 | 13 h 5 min | 10 h 39 min | 13 h 5 min | 4 h | 2% |
| Fri Feb 5 | 13 h 2 min | 10 h 37 min | 13 h 2 min | 4 h | 0% |
| Sat Feb 6 | 13 h | 10 h 34 min | 13 h | 4 h | 0% |
| Sun Feb 7 | 12 h 57 min | 10 h 31 min | 12 h 13 min | 4 h | 2% |
| Mon Feb 8 | 12 h 54 min | 10 h 29 min | 11 h 3 min | 4 h | 6% |
| Tue Feb 9 | 12 h 51 min | 10 h 26 min | 9 h 52 min | 4 h | 12% |
| Wed Feb 10 | 12 h 48 min | 10 h 23 min | 8 h 40 min | 3 h 34 min | 19% |
| Thu Feb 11 | 12 h 45 min | 10 h 20 min | 7 h 24 min | 2 h 20 min | 28% |
| Fri Feb 12 | 12 h 42 min | 10 h 17 min | 6 h 6 min | 1 h 3 min | 38% |
| Sat Feb 13 | 12 h 39 min | 10 h 14 min | 4 h 46 min | 0 min | 49% |
| Sun Feb 14 | 12 h 36 min | 10 h 11 min | 3 h 28 min | 0 min | 60% |
| Mon Feb 15 | 12 h 32 min | 10 h 8 min | 2 h 18 min | 0 min | 71% |
| Tue Feb 16 | 12 h 29 min | 10 h 5 min | 1 h 21 min | 0 min | 81% |
| Wed Feb 17 | 12 h 26 min | 10 h 2 min | 38 min | 0 min | 90% |
| Thu Feb 18 | 12 h 23 min | 9 h 59 min | 5 min | 0 min | 96% |
| Fri Feb 19 | 12 h 20 min | 9 h 56 min | 0 min | 0 min | 99% |
| Sat Feb 20 | 12 h 17 min | 9 h 53 min | 0 min | 0 min | 100% |
| Sun Feb 21 | 12 h 13 min | 9 h 50 min | 50 min | 0 min | 98% |
| Mon Feb 22 | 12 h 10 min | 9 h 46 min | 2 h 9 min | 0 min | 93% |
| Tue Feb 23 | 12 h 7 min | 9 h 43 min | 3 h 26 min | 3 min | 86% |
| Wed Feb 24 | 12 h 3 min | 9 h 40 min | 4 h 41 min | 1 h 20 min | 78% |
| Thu Feb 25 | 12 h | 9 h 37 min | 5 h 55 min | 2 h 35 min | 69% |
| Fri Feb 26 | 11 h 57 min | 9 h 33 min | 7 h 5 min | 3 h 47 min | 60% |
| Sat Feb 27 | 11 h 54 min | 9 h 30 min | 8 h 9 min | 4 h | 50% |
| Sun Feb 28 | 11 h 50 min | 9 h 26 min | 9 h 4 min | 4 h | 40% |
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Grand Forks in February?
- On dark, clear nights with enough activity. 28 of 28 nights at Grand Forks have civil darkness, and 8% of past February days reached Kp 5.
- How dark is Grand Forks in February?
- Grand Forks averages 12.6 hours of civil night a night in February 2027, from 13 h 14 min on the 1st to 11 h 50 min on the last night.
- How cloudy is Grand Forks in February?
- NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology gives Grand Forks's 1 degree cell 58% mean cloud in February, against 59% for the whole year. It is an all-hours average, not a forecast.
- What is the best night in February 2027 for aurora in Grand Forks?
- By darkness and moon alone, Feb 1, with 4 h of moon-free darkness inside 10 PM to 2 AM at Grand Forks. Activity on that date will only be known hours ahead.
- Is February or March better in Grand Forks?
- By civil night times the clear share, February scores 5.3 hours at Grand Forks and March 3.8. February comes out ahead.
Sources and verification
- SunCalchttps://github.com/mourner/suncalc
- NASA POWER climatologyhttps://power.larc.nasa.gov/docs/services/api/temporal/climatology/
- GFZ Potsdam Kp indexhttps://kp.gfz.de/en/data
- NOAA SWPC, Tips on viewing the aurorahttps://www.spaceweather.gov/content/tips-viewing-aurora
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.