North Dakota, United States
Northern lights in Minot
Answer
Tonight
Darkness window open
Civil darkness has begun.
Observed 11:55 UTC, forecast 13:26 UTC, 91 min lead
Clock times in America/Chicago
Valid 12:00 to 13:00 UTC
Storm level needed
Minot sits at 48.23N 101.30W in North Dakota, United States. The IGRF-14 centered dipole puts Minot at 56.1 degrees geomagnetic latitude, 7.9 degrees closer to the magnetic pole than its map latitude suggests. Minot 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.
"aurora is commonly visible at high latitudes (northern Michigan and Maine)"
The nearest other Glow towns are Bismarck (163 km), Williston (172 km), Brandon (204 km). Bismarck sits 1.4 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 Minot has some civil darkness; the shortest month sample still has 6.4 hours. Every evening of the year at Minot clears Glow's dark-season bar of 4 hours of civil night between 18:00 and 06:00. Minot's longest night of the year, Dec 17, has 14 h 20 min of civil night.
Solar midnight at Minot, when the sun is lowest, falls at 00:40 on local clocks on December 15 and 01:45 on June 15. That is 40 min after midnight in December and 1 h 45 min after midnight in June, the gap set by daylight saving and the equation of time. So at Minot 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 | 13.9 h | 11.4 h | 61% | 5.4 hbest | |
| Feb | 12.5 h | 10.1 h | 61% | 4.9 h | |
| Mar | 10.9 h | 8.5 h | 66% | 3.7 h | |
| Apr | 9.1 h | 6.3 h | 62% | 3.5 h | |
| May | 7.4 h | 3.6 h | 59% | 3.0 h | |
| Jun | 6.4 h | 0.0 h | 58% | 2.7 h | |
| Jul | 6.9 h | 2.5 h | 47% | 3.7 h | |
| Aug | 8.4 h | 5.4 h | 50% | 4.3 h | |
| Sep | 10.3 h | 7.8 h | 53% | 4.8 h | |
| Oct | 12.0 h | 9.6 h | 62% | 4.6 h | |
| Nov | 13.6 h | 11.1 h | 67% | 4.5 h | |
| Dec | 14.3 h | 11.7 h | 69% | 4.4 h |
By the 15th-of-the-month sample, December is the darkest month at Minot with 14.3 hours of civil night and June the lightest at 6.4. Across the year Minot gets 3,825 hours of civil night. Astronomical night at Minot, 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 Minot at 60% across the year, from 47% in July to 69% in December. In the months with at least 4 hours of civil night Minot averages 60%, against a median of 61% for Glow towns in United States.
Multiplying civil night by the clear share of the sky gives January the best score, 5.4 hours, ahead of February at 4.9. Minot's equinox months score 3.7 in March and 4.8 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 Minot, on 10% of days. At Minot'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 25, in America/Chicago dates. 15 of the 30 nights at Minot have at least 2 moon-free dark hours inside 10 PM to 2 AM, and Oct 5 has the most at 4 h. Tonight Minot has 11 h 14 min of civil night, 1 h 57 min of it with the moon down.
- 1
65% lit
1.9 h
- 2
54% lit
3.1 h
- 3
43% lit
4.4 h
- 4
32% lit
5.8 h
- 5
22% lit
7.2 h
- 6
13% lit
8.6 h
- 7
7% lit
9.9 h
- 8
2% lit
11.2 h
- 9
0% lit
11.7 h
- 10
0% lit
11.8 h
- 11
3% lit
11.8 h
- 12
7% lit
11.9 h
- 13
13% lit
11.6 h
- 14
20% lit
11.1 h
- 15
28% lit
10.3 h
- 16
36% lit
9.4 h
- 17
46% lit
8.3 h
- 18
55% lit
7.2 h
- 19
65% lit
6.1 h
- 20
74% lit
4.9 h
- 21
82% lit
3.7 h
- 22
89% lit
2.5 h
- 23
95% lit
1.3 h
- 24
99% lit
0.0 h
- 25
100% lit
0.0 h
- 26
98% lit
0.0 h
- 27
94% lit
0.0 h
- 28
87% lit
0.7 h
- 29
79% lit
1.8 h
- 30
68% 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 United States
Among the 6 Glow towns in North Dakota, Minot ranks 2nd by dipole latitude against a regional median of 55.5 degrees; Grand Forks sits highest at 56.1. Among the 136 Glow towns in United States, Minot ranks 6th by dipole latitude against a national median of 51.5 degrees; Fairbanks sits highest at 65.7. On December 15 Minot gets 14.3 hours of civil night, 6th longest of 136 in United States, where the median is 13.8.
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Minot?
- Minot 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. Clear, dark sky over Minot still decides it.
- When is it dark enough in Minot?
- Every night at Minot has civil darkness. Tonight has 11 h 14 min, and December 15 has 14.3 hours.
- What is the best month for aurora in Minot?
- January, by civil night at Minot times the clear share of the sky from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 average.
- How cloudy is Minot in the dark months?
- About 60% mean cloud amount over Minot 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 Minot?
- 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.
Nearby and related
Nearest Glow towns
Minot by month
Region and comparisons