Molde · January 2027
Northern lights in Molde in January 2027
Answer
January against the rest of the year
January cloud at Molde averages 85% in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record, 2 points cloudier than its yearly mean. April is Molde's clearest month at 82%. By civil night times clear sky, January scores 2.4 hours at Molde, 3rd of 12. Kristiansund, 50 km away, averages the same 85%.
Civil night at Molde starts January at 16 h 30 min and reaches 14 h 41 min by January 31, 1.8 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 12.0 hours on the 15th.
January night by night
January opens toward a new moon on Jan 7, with full moon on Jan 22, in Europe/Oslo dates. Molde gets 278 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: Jan 1 (4 h), Jan 2 (4 h), Jan 3 (4 h).
- 1
29% lit
12.7 h
- 2
20% lit
14.5 h
- 3
13% lit
16.4 h
- 4
7% lit
16.4 h
- 5
3% lit
16.4 h
- 6
1% lit
16.3 h
- 7
0% lit
16.3 h
- 8
1% lit
16.2 h
- 9
4% lit
15.6 h
- 10
8% lit
14.0 h
- 11
15% lit
12.4 h
- 12
22% lit
10.9 h
- 13
31% lit
9.3 h
- 14
41% lit
7.8 h
- 15
51% lit
6.1 h
- 16
62% lit
4.2 h
- 17
72% lit
2.1 h
- 18
82% lit
0.0 h
- 19
90% lit
0.0 h
- 20
96% lit
0.0 h
- 21
99% lit
0.0 h
- 22
100% lit
0.0 h
- 23
97% lit
0.8 h
- 24
92% lit
2.7 h
- 25
84% lit
4.4 h
- 26
75% lit
6.1 h
- 27
65% lit
7.7 h
- 28
55% lit
9.4 h
- 29
45% lit
11.1 h
- 30
36% lit
13.0 h
- 31
27% lit
14.7 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 Januarys
Molde needs Kp 2 for the average oval edge to sit overhead. 730 of the 930 January days from 1996 to 2025 (78%) reached it in the GFZ Potsdam record, 6th of 12 months; storm days with Kp 5 or more made up 6%. Molde sits at 62.9 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 2.
January across Norway
Molde ranks 10th in Norway for civil night on January 15, behind Alta at 17.9 hours. Coming from December (16.6 hours at Molde), January loses darkness, and February brings shorter nights (13.3 hours on the 15th).
Darkness and moon, every night
| Night | Civil | Astronomical | Moon-free dark | Moon-free, 10 PM to 2 AM | Moon lit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri Jan 1 | 16 h 30 min | 12 h 32 min | 12 h 43 min | 4 h | 29% |
| Sat Jan 2 | 16 h 28 min | 12 h 31 min | 14 h 29 min | 4 h | 20% |
| Sun Jan 3 | 16 h 26 min | 12 h 30 min | 16 h 26 min | 4 h | 13% |
| Mon Jan 4 | 16 h 23 min | 12 h 28 min | 16 h 23 min | 4 h | 7% |
| Tue Jan 5 | 16 h 21 min | 12 h 26 min | 16 h 21 min | 4 h | 3% |
| Wed Jan 6 | 16 h 19 min | 12 h 24 min | 16 h 19 min | 4 h | 1% |
| Thu Jan 7 | 16 h 16 min | 12 h 22 min | 16 h 16 min | 4 h | 0% |
| Fri Jan 8 | 16 h 13 min | 12 h 20 min | 16 h 13 min | 4 h | 1% |
| Sat Jan 9 | 16 h 10 min | 12 h 18 min | 15 h 35 min | 4 h | 4% |
| Sun Jan 10 | 16 h 7 min | 12 h 15 min | 13 h 58 min | 4 h | 8% |
| Mon Jan 11 | 16 h 4 min | 12 h 13 min | 12 h 24 min | 4 h | 15% |
| Tue Jan 12 | 16 h 1 min | 12 h 10 min | 10 h 53 min | 4 h | 22% |
| Wed Jan 13 | 15 h 58 min | 12 h 8 min | 9 h 21 min | 2 h 43 min | 31% |
| Thu Jan 14 | 15 h 54 min | 12 h 5 min | 7 h 46 min | 1 h 9 min | 41% |
| Fri Jan 15 | 15 h 51 min | 12 h 2 min | 6 h 4 min | 0 min | 51% |
| Sat Jan 16 | 15 h 47 min | 11 h 59 min | 4 h 12 min | 0 min | 62% |
| Sun Jan 17 | 15 h 43 min | 11 h 56 min | 2 h 8 min | 0 min | 72% |
| Mon Jan 18 | 15 h 39 min | 11 h 53 min | 0 min | 0 min | 82% |
| Tue Jan 19 | 15 h 35 min | 11 h 50 min | 0 min | 0 min | 90% |
| Wed Jan 20 | 15 h 31 min | 11 h 46 min | 0 min | 0 min | 96% |
| Thu Jan 21 | 15 h 27 min | 11 h 43 min | 0 min | 0 min | 99% |
| Fri Jan 22 | 15 h 23 min | 11 h 39 min | 0 min | 0 min | 100% |
| Sat Jan 23 | 15 h 18 min | 11 h 36 min | 50 min | 0 min | 97% |
| Sun Jan 24 | 15 h 14 min | 11 h 32 min | 2 h 41 min | 0 min | 92% |
| Mon Jan 25 | 15 h 9 min | 11 h 28 min | 4 h 25 min | 0 min | 84% |
| Tue Jan 26 | 15 h 5 min | 11 h 24 min | 6 h 5 min | 1 h 16 min | 75% |
| Wed Jan 27 | 15 h | 11 h 20 min | 7 h 44 min | 2 h 57 min | 65% |
| Thu Jan 28 | 14 h 55 min | 11 h 16 min | 9 h 24 min | 4 h | 55% |
| Fri Jan 29 | 14 h 51 min | 11 h 12 min | 11 h 8 min | 4 h | 45% |
| Sat Jan 30 | 14 h 46 min | 11 h 8 min | 13 h 2 min | 4 h | 36% |
| Sun Jan 31 | 14 h 41 min | 11 h 4 min | 14 h 41 min | 4 h | 27% |
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Molde in January?
- On dark, clear nights with enough activity. 31 of 31 nights at Molde have civil darkness, and 78% of past January days reached Kp 2.
- How dark is Molde in January?
- Molde averages 15.7 hours of civil night a night in January 2027, from 16 h 30 min on the 1st to 14 h 41 min on the last night.
- How cloudy is Molde in January?
- NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology gives Molde's 1 degree cell 85% mean cloud in January, against 83% for the whole year. It is an all-hours average, not a forecast.
- What is the best night in January 2027 for aurora in Molde?
- By darkness and moon alone, Jan 1, with 4 h of moon-free darkness inside 10 PM to 2 AM at Molde. Activity on that date will only be known hours ahead.
- Is January or February better in Molde?
- By civil night times the clear share, January scores 2.4 hours at Molde and February 2.0. January 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.