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Medicine Hat · October 2026

Northern lights in Medicine Hat in October 2026

Answer

October gives Medicine Hat 12.1 hours of civil night on the 15th, the 5th darkest of its 12 months, under 65% mean cloud. 12% of October days since 1996 reached Kp 5, enough for the oval edge to reach Medicine Hat.
12.1 h
civil night, average night
SunCalc for 50.04, -110.68; NASA POWER; GFZ Kp

October against the rest of the year

October cloud at Medicine Hat averages 65% in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record, close to its yearly mean of 64%. July is Medicine Hat's clearest month at 46%. By civil night times clear sky, October scores 4.2 hours at Medicine Hat, 2nd of 12. Lethbridge, 158 km away, averages the same 65%.

Civil night at Medicine Hat starts October at 11 h 14 min and reaches 12 h 58 min by October 31 as the nights lengthen by 1.7 hours. SWPC's 10 PM to 2 AM window is fully dark on every night. True astronomical darkness, the sun 18 degrees down, lasts 9.6 hours on the 15th.

October night by night

October opens toward a new moon on Oct 10, with full moon on Oct 25, in America/Edmonton dates. Medicine Hat 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: Oct 5 (4 h), Oct 6 (4 h), Oct 7 (4 h).

  1. 1

    65% lit

    1.8 h

  2. 2

    54% lit

    2.9 h

  3. 3

    42% lit

    4.3 h

  4. 4

    31% lit

    5.7 h

  5. 5

    21% lit

    7.2 h

  6. 6

    13% lit

    8.6 h

  7. 7

    7% lit

    9.9 h

  8. 8

    2% lit

    11.2 h

  9. 9

    0% lit

    11.7 h

  10. 10

    1% lit

    11.8 h

  11. 11

    3% lit

    11.8 h

  12. 12

    7% lit

    11.9 h

  13. 13

    13% lit

    11.8 h

  14. 14

    20% lit

    11.3 h

  15. 15

    28% lit

    10.5 h

  16. 16

    37% lit

    9.6 h

  17. 17

    46% lit

    8.5 h

  18. 18

    56% lit

    7.4 h

  19. 19

    65% lit

    6.2 h

  20. 20

    74% lit

    5.0 h

  21. 21

    82% lit

    3.8 h

  22. 22

    90% lit

    2.5 h

  23. 23

    95% lit

    1.2 h

  24. 24

    99% lit

    0.0 h

  25. 25

    100% lit

    0.0 h

  26. 26

    98% lit

    0.0 h

  27. 27

    94% lit

    0.0 h

  28. 28

    87% lit

    0.6 h

  29. 29

    78% lit

    1.6 h

  30. 30

    68% lit

    3.0 h

  31. 31

    57% lit

    4.4 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.

Activity in past Octobers

Medicine Hat needs Kp 5 for the average oval edge to sit overhead. 116 of the 930 October days from 1996 to 2025 (12%) reached it in the GFZ Potsdam record, one of the three most active months for that level; storm days with Kp 5 or more made up 12%. Medicine Hat sits at 56.9 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.

October across Canada

Medicine Hat ranks 9th in Canada for civil night on October 15, behind Yellowknife at 12.4 hours. Coming from September (10.2 hours at Medicine Hat), October adds darkness, and the nights keep growing into November (13.7 hours on the 15th).

Civil night on October 15 and October cloud, month-page towns in Canada
TownCivil nightCloud
Yellowknife12.4 h81%
Whitehorse12.4 h77%
Edmonton12.2 h68%
Grande Prairie12.2 h71%
Fort McMurray12.2 h71%
Prince Albert12.2 h70%
Lloydminster12.2 h66%
Fort St. John12.2 h71%
Medicine Hat12.1 h65%
Calgary12.1 h68%
Winnipeg12.1 h66%
Saskatoon12.1 h65%

Darkness and moon, every night

Medicine Hat, October 2026: each night from local noon to the next noon
NightCivilAstronomicalMoon-free darkMoon-free, 10 PM to 2 AMMoon lit
Thu Oct 111 h 14 min8 h 42 min1 h 47 min0 min65%
Fri Oct 211 h 17 min8 h 46 min2 h 55 min29 min54%
Sat Oct 311 h 21 min8 h 49 min4 h 16 min1 h 47 min42%
Sun Oct 411 h 25 min8 h 53 min5 h 42 min3 h 12 min31%
Mon Oct 511 h 28 min8 h 57 min7 h 9 min4 h21%
Tue Oct 611 h 32 min9 h 1 min8 h 33 min4 h13%
Wed Oct 711 h 36 min9 h 5 min9 h 54 min4 h7%
Thu Oct 811 h 39 min9 h 9 min11 h 14 min4 h2%
Fri Oct 911 h 43 min9 h 12 min11 h 43 min4 h0%
Sat Oct 1011 h 46 min9 h 16 min11 h 46 min4 h1%
Sun Oct 1111 h 50 min9 h 20 min11 h 50 min4 h3%
Mon Oct 1211 h 54 min9 h 24 min11 h 54 min4 h7%
Tue Oct 1311 h 57 min9 h 27 min11 h 48 min4 h13%
Wed Oct 1412 h 1 min9 h 31 min11 h 15 min4 h20%
Thu Oct 1512 h 4 min9 h 34 min10 h 30 min4 h28%
Fri Oct 1612 h 8 min9 h 38 min9 h 35 min4 h37%
Sat Oct 1712 h 11 min9 h 41 min8 h 31 min3 h 17 min46%
Sun Oct 1812 h 15 min9 h 45 min7 h 22 min2 h 6 min56%
Mon Oct 1912 h 18 min9 h 48 min6 h 10 min53 min65%
Tue Oct 2012 h 22 min9 h 52 min4 h 58 min0 min74%
Wed Oct 2112 h 25 min9 h 55 min3 h 45 min0 min82%
Thu Oct 2212 h 28 min9 h 58 min2 h 31 min0 min90%
Fri Oct 2312 h 32 min10 h 2 min1 h 14 min0 min95%
Sat Oct 2412 h 35 min10 h 5 min0 min0 min99%
Sun Oct 2512 h 38 min10 h 8 min0 min0 min100%
Mon Oct 2612 h 42 min10 h 11 min0 min0 min98%
Tue Oct 2712 h 45 min10 h 14 min0 min0 min94%
Wed Oct 2812 h 48 min10 h 18 min34 min0 min87%
Thu Oct 2912 h 52 min10 h 21 min1 h 38 min0 min78%
Fri Oct 3012 h 55 min10 h 24 min2 h 57 min0 min68%
Sat Oct 3112 h 58 min10 h 27 min4 h 22 min1 h57%
Moon lit: SunCalc illuminated fraction at the middle of the 10 PM to 2 AM window.

Questions

Can you see the northern lights in Medicine Hat in October?
On dark, clear nights with enough activity. 31 of 31 nights at Medicine Hat have civil darkness, and 12% of past October days reached Kp 5.
How dark is Medicine Hat in October?
Medicine Hat averages 12.1 hours of civil night a night in October 2026, from 11 h 14 min on the 1st to 12 h 58 min on the last night.
How cloudy is Medicine Hat in October?
NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology gives Medicine Hat's 1 degree cell 65% mean cloud in October, against 64% for the whole year. It is an all-hours average, not a forecast.
What is the best night in October 2026 for aurora in Medicine Hat?
By darkness and moon alone, Oct 5, with 4 h of moon-free darkness inside 10 PM to 2 AM at Medicine Hat. Activity on that date will only be known hours ahead.
Is October or November better in Medicine Hat?
By civil night times the clear share, October scores 4.2 hours at Medicine Hat and November 3.7. October comes out ahead.

Sources and verification

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.