Iisalmi · November 2026
Northern lights in Iisalmi in November 2026
Answer
November against the rest of the year
November cloud at Iisalmi averages 88% in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record, 13 points cloudier than its yearly mean. June is Iisalmi's clearest month at 68%. By civil night times clear sky, November scores 1.8 hours at Iisalmi, 8th of 12. Siilinjärvi, 58 km away, averages the same 88%.
Civil night at Iisalmi starts November at 14 h 2 min and reaches 16 h 16 min by November 30 as the nights lengthen by 2.2 hours. SWPC's 10 PM to 2 AM window is fully dark on every night. True astronomical darkness, the sun 18 degrees down, lasts 11.4 hours on the 15th.
November night by night
November opens toward a new moon on Nov 9, with full moon on Nov 24, in Europe/Helsinki dates. Iisalmi gets 237 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
49% lit
4.4 h
- 2
38% lit
6.3 h
- 3
28% lit
8.2 h
- 4
19% lit
9.9 h
- 5
12% lit
11.6 h
- 6
6% lit
13.2 h
- 7
2% lit
14.6 h
- 8
0% lit
14.7 h
- 9
1% lit
14.8 h
- 10
3% lit
14.8 h
- 11
7% lit
14.9 h
- 12
12% lit
15.0 h
- 13
19% lit
15.1 h
- 14
27% lit
14.0 h
- 15
35% lit
12.1 h
- 16
45% lit
10.4 h
- 17
54% lit
8.8 h
- 18
64% lit
7.2 h
- 19
74% lit
5.7 h
- 20
82% lit
4.0 h
- 21
90% lit
2.3 h
- 22
96% lit
0.3 h
- 23
99% lit
0.0 h
- 24
100% lit
0.0 h
- 25
97% lit
0.0 h
- 26
92% lit
0.0 h
- 27
85% lit
0.5 h
- 28
75% lit
2.9 h
- 29
65% lit
5.0 h
- 30
54% lit
6.8 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
Iisalmi needs Kp 3 for the average oval edge to sit overhead. 455 of the 900 November days from 1996 to 2025 (51%) reached it in the GFZ Potsdam record, 6th of 12 months; storm days with Kp 5 or more made up 10%. Iisalmi sits at 60.6 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 3.
November across Finland
Iisalmi ranks 11th in Finland for civil night on November 15, behind Rovaniemi at 15.8 hours. Coming from October (12.4 hours at Iisalmi), November adds darkness, and the nights keep growing into December (16.8 hours on the 15th).
Darkness and moon, every night
| Night | Civil | Astronomical | Moon-free dark | Moon-free, 10 PM to 2 AM | Moon lit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun Nov 1 | 14 h 2 min | 10 h 23 min | 4 h 23 min | 0 min | 49% |
| Mon Nov 2 | 14 h 8 min | 10 h 28 min | 6 h 21 min | 1 h 12 min | 38% |
| Tue Nov 3 | 14 h 13 min | 10 h 33 min | 8 h 9 min | 2 h 58 min | 28% |
| Wed Nov 4 | 14 h 19 min | 10 h 38 min | 9 h 52 min | 4 h | 19% |
| Thu Nov 5 | 14 h 24 min | 10 h 43 min | 11 h 33 min | 4 h | 12% |
| Fri Nov 6 | 14 h 29 min | 10 h 47 min | 13 h 14 min | 4 h | 6% |
| Sat Nov 7 | 14 h 34 min | 10 h 52 min | 14 h 34 min | 4 h | 2% |
| Sun Nov 8 | 14 h 40 min | 10 h 57 min | 14 h 40 min | 4 h | 0% |
| Mon Nov 9 | 14 h 45 min | 11 h 1 min | 14 h 45 min | 4 h | 1% |
| Tue Nov 10 | 14 h 50 min | 11 h 6 min | 14 h 50 min | 4 h | 3% |
| Wed Nov 11 | 14 h 55 min | 11 h 10 min | 14 h 55 min | 4 h | 7% |
| Thu Nov 12 | 15 h | 11 h 14 min | 15 h | 4 h | 12% |
| Fri Nov 13 | 15 h 5 min | 11 h 19 min | 15 h 5 min | 4 h | 19% |
| Sat Nov 14 | 15 h 10 min | 11 h 23 min | 13 h 59 min | 4 h | 27% |
| Sun Nov 15 | 15 h 14 min | 11 h 27 min | 12 h 4 min | 4 h | 35% |
| Mon Nov 16 | 15 h 19 min | 11 h 31 min | 10 h 22 min | 4 h | 45% |
| Tue Nov 17 | 15 h 24 min | 11 h 35 min | 8 h 46 min | 3 h 8 min | 54% |
| Wed Nov 18 | 15 h 28 min | 11 h 38 min | 7 h 13 min | 1 h 32 min | 64% |
| Thu Nov 19 | 15 h 33 min | 11 h 42 min | 5 h 39 min | 0 min | 74% |
| Fri Nov 20 | 15 h 37 min | 11 h 46 min | 4 h 1 min | 0 min | 82% |
| Sat Nov 21 | 15 h 42 min | 11 h 49 min | 2 h 15 min | 0 min | 90% |
| Sun Nov 22 | 15 h 46 min | 11 h 53 min | 17 min | 0 min | 96% |
| Mon Nov 23 | 15 h 50 min | 11 h 56 min | 0 min | 0 min | 99% |
| Tue Nov 24 | 15 h 54 min | 11 h 59 min | 0 min | 0 min | 100% |
| Wed Nov 25 | 15 h 58 min | 12 h 2 min | 0 min | 0 min | 97% |
| Thu Nov 26 | 16 h 2 min | 12 h 6 min | 0 min | 0 min | 92% |
| Fri Nov 27 | 16 h 5 min | 12 h 8 min | 32 min | 0 min | 85% |
| Sat Nov 28 | 16 h 9 min | 12 h 11 min | 2 h 53 min | 0 min | 75% |
| Sun Nov 29 | 16 h 13 min | 12 h 14 min | 4 h 57 min | 0 min | 65% |
| Mon Nov 30 | 16 h 16 min | 12 h 17 min | 6 h 48 min | 41 min | 54% |
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Iisalmi in November?
- On dark, clear nights with enough activity. 30 of 30 nights at Iisalmi have civil darkness, and 51% of past November days reached Kp 3.
- How dark is Iisalmi in November?
- Iisalmi averages 15.2 hours of civil night a night in November 2026, from 14 h 2 min on the 1st to 16 h 16 min on the last night.
- How cloudy is Iisalmi in November?
- NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology gives Iisalmi's 1 degree cell 88% mean cloud in November, against 75% for the whole year. It is an all-hours average, not a forecast.
- What is the best night in November 2026 for aurora in Iisalmi?
- By darkness and moon alone, Nov 4, with 4 h of moon-free darkness inside 10 PM to 2 AM at Iisalmi. Activity on that date will only be known hours ahead.
- Is November or December better in Iisalmi?
- By civil night times the clear share, November scores 1.8 hours at Iisalmi and December 2.9. December 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.