Quebec, Canada
Northern lights in L'Ancienne-Lorette
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 America/Toronto
Storm level needed
L'Ancienne-Lorette sits at 46.79N 71.35W in Quebec, Canada. The IGRF-14 centered dipole puts L'Ancienne-Lorette at 56.0 degrees geomagnetic latitude, 9.2 degrees closer to the magnetic pole than its map latitude suggests. L'Ancienne-Lorette sits at 56.0 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.
"aurora is commonly visible at high latitudes (northern Michigan and Maine)"
The nearest other Glow towns are Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures (10 km), Québec (11 km), Thetford-Mines (78 km). Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures sits 0.1 degrees lower on the dipole, Kp 6 against 5 here.
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 L'Ancienne-Lorette has some civil darkness; the shortest month sample still has 6.7 hours. Every evening of the year at L'Ancienne-Lorette clears Glow's dark-season bar of 4 hours of civil night between 18:00 and 06:00. L'Ancienne-Lorette's longest night of the year, Dec 17, has 14 h 11 min of civil night.
Solar midnight at L'Ancienne-Lorette, when the sun is lowest, falls at 23:41 on local clocks on December 15 and 00:46 on June 15. That is 19 min before midnight in December and 46 min after midnight in June, the gap set by daylight saving and the equation of time. So at L'Ancienne-Lorette 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 | 13.8 h | 11.3 h | 67% | 4.6 hbest | |
| Feb | 12.5 h | 10.1 h | 66% | 4.3 h | |
| Mar | 11.0 h | 8.6 h | 63% | 4.1 h | |
| Apr | 9.2 h | 6.5 h | 67% | 3.0 h | |
| May | 7.6 h | 4.1 h | 69% | 2.4 h | |
| Jun | 6.7 h | 2.0 h | 65% | 2.3 h | |
| Jul | 7.2 h | 3.2 h | 62% | 2.7 h | |
| Aug | 8.6 h | 5.7 h | 60% | 3.4 h | |
| Sep | 10.3 h | 7.9 h | 57% | 4.5 h | |
| Oct | 12.0 h | 9.7 h | 70% | 3.6 h | |
| Nov | 13.4 h | 11.0 h | 74% | 3.5 h | |
| Dec | 14.2 h | 11.7 h | 74% | 3.7 h |
By the 15th-of-the-month sample, December is the darkest month at L'Ancienne-Lorette with 14.2 hours of civil night and June the lightest at 6.7. Across the year L'Ancienne-Lorette gets 3,845 hours of civil night. Astronomical night at L'Ancienne-Lorette, the sun 18 degrees or more below the horizon, lasts 11.7 hours on December 15.
NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 all-hours climatology puts mean cloud amount for the 1 degree cell around L'Ancienne-Lorette at 66% across the year, from 57% in September to 74% in November. In the months with at least 4 hours of civil night L'Ancienne-Lorette averages 66%, against a median of 67% for Glow towns in Canada.
Multiplying civil night by the clear share of the sky gives January the best score, 4.6 hours, ahead of September at 4.5. L'Ancienne-Lorette's equinox months score 4.1 in March and 4.5 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 5 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge over L'Ancienne-Lorette, on 10% of days. At L'Ancienne-Lorette's level the share runs from 5% in December to 14% 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 5. Kp history by year
Moon, next 30 nights
Over the 30 nights from Oct 1, the new moon falls on Oct 10 and the full moon on Oct 26, in America/Toronto dates. 15 of the 30 nights at L'Ancienne-Lorette have at least 2 moon-free dark hours inside 10 PM to 2 AM, and Oct 6 has the most at 4 h. Tonight L'Ancienne-Lorette has 11 h 14 min of civil night, 2 h 1 min of it with the moon down.
- 1
66% lit
2.0 h
- 2
55% lit
3.1 h
- 3
43% lit
4.4 h
- 4
32% lit
5.8 h
- 5
22% lit
7.2 h
- 6
14% lit
8.5 h
- 7
7% lit
9.8 h
- 8
3% lit
11.1 h
- 9
0% lit
11.7 h
- 10
0% lit
11.7 h
- 11
3% lit
11.8 h
- 12
7% lit
11.8 h
- 13
12% lit
11.6 h
- 14
19% lit
10.9 h
- 15
27% lit
10.2 h
- 16
36% lit
9.3 h
- 17
45% lit
8.3 h
- 18
55% lit
7.2 h
- 19
64% lit
6.1 h
- 20
73% lit
4.9 h
- 21
82% lit
3.8 h
- 22
89% lit
2.6 h
- 23
95% lit
1.4 h
- 24
99% lit
0.1 h
- 25
100% lit
0.0 h
- 26
98% lit
0.0 h
- 27
94% lit
0.0 h
- 28
88% lit
0.7 h
- 29
79% lit
1.8 h
- 30
69% lit
3.0 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 Canada
Among the 32 Glow towns in Quebec, L'Ancienne-Lorette ranks 11th by dipole latitude against a regional median of 55.3 degrees; Sept-Îles sits highest at 59.3. Among the 131 Glow towns in Canada, L'Ancienne-Lorette ranks 54th by dipole latitude against a national median of 55.3 degrees; Yellowknife sits highest at 68.5. On December 15 L'Ancienne-Lorette gets 14.2 hours of civil night, 63rd longest of 131 in Canada, where the median is 14.2.
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in L'Ancienne-Lorette?
- L'Ancienne-Lorette sits at 56.0 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. Clear, dark sky over L'Ancienne-Lorette still decides it.
- When is it dark enough in L'Ancienne-Lorette?
- Every night at L'Ancienne-Lorette has civil darkness. Tonight has 11 h 14 min, and December 15 has 14.2 hours.
- What is the best month for aurora in L'Ancienne-Lorette?
- January, by civil night at L'Ancienne-Lorette times the clear share of the sky from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 average.
- How cloudy is L'Ancienne-Lorette in the dark months?
- About 66% mean cloud amount over L'Ancienne-Lorette 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 L'Ancienne-Lorette?
- A 3-hour Kp of 5 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge overhead, occurred on 10% of days from 1996 to 2025 in the GFZ Potsdam record.
- Why does this page point to Québec?
- L'Ancienne-Lorette sits within 15 km of Québec with the same rounded dipole latitude, Kp and dark season, so Glow treats Québec as the main page for both.
Nearby and related
Nearest Glow towns
L'Ancienne-Lorette by month
Region and comparisons