Harstad · February 2027
Northern lights in Harstad in February 2027
Answer
February against the rest of the year
February cloud at Harstad averages 81% in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record, close to its yearly mean of 81%. July is Harstad's clearest month at 78%. By civil night times clear sky, February scores 2.6 hours at Harstad, 4th of 12. Tromsø, 134 km away, averages 83%, cloudier by 2 points.
Civil night at Harstad starts February at 15 h 39 min and reaches 12 h 17 min by February 28, 3.4 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 9.4 hours on the 15th.
February night by night
February opens toward a new moon on Feb 6, with full moon on Feb 21, in Europe/Oslo dates. Harstad gets 215 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
19% lit
15.7 h
- 2
12% lit
15.5 h
- 3
7% lit
15.4 h
- 4
3% lit
15.3 h
- 5
0% lit
15.2 h
- 6
0% lit
15.1 h
- 7
2% lit
14.8 h
- 8
5% lit
12.9 h
- 9
10% lit
11.1 h
- 10
17% lit
9.2 h
- 11
26% lit
6.9 h
- 12
35% lit
3.8 h
- 13
46% lit
0.0 h
- 14
57% lit
0.0 h
- 15
68% lit
0.0 h
- 16
78% lit
0.0 h
- 17
87% lit
0.0 h
- 18
94% lit
0.0 h
- 19
99% lit
0.0 h
- 20
100% lit
0.0 h
- 21
99% lit
0.4 h
- 22
95% lit
2.5 h
- 23
89% lit
4.6 h
- 24
81% lit
7.3 h
- 25
72% lit
12.7 h
- 26
62% lit
12.5 h
- 27
53% lit
12.4 h
- 28
43% lit
12.3 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 Februarys
Quiet activity already puts the oval edge over Harstad, so storm days matter more: 67 of the 848 February days from 1996 to 2025 (8%) reached Kp 5, one of the three quietest months for that level. Harstad sits at 67.1 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 0.
February across Norway
Harstad ranks 3rd in Norway for civil night on February 15, behind Alta at 14.1 hours. Coming from January (17.5 hours at Harstad), February loses darkness, and March brings shorter nights (10.2 hours on the 15th).
Darkness and moon, every night
| Night | Civil | Astronomical | Moon-free dark | Moon-free, 10 PM to 2 AM | Moon lit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon Feb 1 | 15 h 39 min | 11 h | 15 h 39 min | 4 h | 19% |
| Tue Feb 2 | 15 h 32 min | 10 h 54 min | 15 h 32 min | 4 h | 12% |
| Wed Feb 3 | 15 h 25 min | 10 h 48 min | 15 h 25 min | 4 h | 7% |
| Thu Feb 4 | 15 h 18 min | 10 h 42 min | 15 h 18 min | 4 h | 3% |
| Fri Feb 5 | 15 h 10 min | 10 h 36 min | 15 h 10 min | 4 h | 0% |
| Sat Feb 6 | 15 h 3 min | 10 h 29 min | 15 h 3 min | 4 h | 0% |
| Sun Feb 7 | 14 h 56 min | 10 h 23 min | 14 h 49 min | 4 h | 2% |
| Mon Feb 8 | 14 h 49 min | 10 h 16 min | 12 h 54 min | 4 h | 5% |
| Tue Feb 9 | 14 h 41 min | 10 h 10 min | 11 h 3 min | 4 h | 10% |
| Wed Feb 10 | 14 h 34 min | 10 h 3 min | 9 h 9 min | 3 h 45 min | 17% |
| Thu Feb 11 | 14 h 26 min | 9 h 56 min | 6 h 56 min | 1 h 45 min | 26% |
| Fri Feb 12 | 14 h 19 min | 9 h 49 min | 3 h 45 min | 0 min | 35% |
| Sat Feb 13 | 14 h 12 min | 9 h 42 min | 0 min | 0 min | 46% |
| Sun Feb 14 | 14 h 4 min | 9 h 35 min | 0 min | 0 min | 57% |
| Mon Feb 15 | 13 h 57 min | 9 h 28 min | 0 min | 0 min | 68% |
| Tue Feb 16 | 13 h 49 min | 9 h 20 min | 0 min | 0 min | 78% |
| Wed Feb 17 | 13 h 41 min | 9 h 13 min | 0 min | 0 min | 87% |
| Thu Feb 18 | 13 h 34 min | 9 h 5 min | 0 min | 0 min | 94% |
| Fri Feb 19 | 13 h 26 min | 8 h 57 min | 0 min | 0 min | 99% |
| Sat Feb 20 | 13 h 19 min | 8 h 50 min | 0 min | 0 min | 100% |
| Sun Feb 21 | 13 h 11 min | 8 h 42 min | 26 min | 0 min | 99% |
| Mon Feb 22 | 13 h 3 min | 8 h 33 min | 2 h 28 min | 0 min | 95% |
| Tue Feb 23 | 12 h 56 min | 8 h 25 min | 4 h 35 min | 8 min | 89% |
| Wed Feb 24 | 12 h 48 min | 8 h 17 min | 7 h 16 min | 2 h 23 min | 81% |
| Thu Feb 25 | 12 h 40 min | 8 h 8 min | 12 h 40 min | 4 h | 72% |
| Fri Feb 26 | 12 h 32 min | 8 h | 12 h 32 min | 4 h | 62% |
| Sat Feb 27 | 12 h 25 min | 7 h 51 min | 12 h 25 min | 4 h | 53% |
| Sun Feb 28 | 12 h 17 min | 7 h 42 min | 12 h 17 min | 4 h | 43% |
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Harstad in February?
- On dark, clear nights with enough activity. 28 of 28 nights at Harstad have civil darkness, and 8% of past February days reached Kp 5.
- How dark is Harstad in February?
- Harstad averages 14.0 hours of civil night a night in February 2027, from 15 h 39 min on the 1st to 12 h 17 min on the last night.
- How cloudy is Harstad in February?
- NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology gives Harstad's 1 degree cell 81% mean cloud in February, against 81% for the whole year. It is an all-hours average, not a forecast.
- What is the best night in February 2027 for aurora in Harstad?
- By darkness and moon alone, Feb 1, with 4 h of moon-free darkness inside 10 PM to 2 AM at Harstad. Activity on that date will only be known hours ahead.
- Is February or March better in Harstad?
- By civil night times the clear share, February scores 2.6 hours at Harstad and March 1.7. 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.