Can you see the northern lights in Motherwell in June?

On dark, clear nights with enough activity. 30 of 30 nights at Motherwell have civil darkness, and 20% of past June days reached Kp 4.

How dark is Motherwell in June?

Motherwell averages 4.3 hours of civil night a night in June 2027, from 4 h 43 min on the 1st to 4 h 17 min on the last night.

How cloudy is Motherwell in June?

NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology gives Motherwell's 1 degree cell 82% mean cloud in June, against 77% for the whole year. It is an all-hours average, not a forecast.

What is the best night in June 2027 for aurora in Motherwell?

By darkness and moon alone, Jun 1, with 3 h 8 min of moon-free darkness inside 10 PM to 2 AM at Motherwell. Activity on that date will only be known hours ahead.

Is June or July better in Motherwell?

By civil night times the clear share, June scores 0.8 hours at Motherwell and July 1.1. July comes out ahead.

Motherwell · June 2027

Northern lights in Motherwell in June 2027

Answer

June gives Motherwell 4.2 hours of civil night on the 15th, the lightest month of its year, under 82% mean cloud. 20% of June days since 1996 reached Kp 4, enough for the oval edge to reach Motherwell.

4.3 h

civil night, average night

SunCalc for 55.79, -3.99; NASA POWER; GFZ Kp

June against the rest of the year

3.1

3.0

2.5

2.1

1.5

0.8

1.1

1.6

2.4

2.9

3.4

3.5

June cloud at Motherwell averages 82% in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record, 5 points cloudier than its yearly mean. May is Motherwell's clearest month at 74%. By civil night times clear sky, June scores 0.8 hours at Motherwell, 12th of 12. Glasgow, 19 km away, averages 79%, clearer by 3 points.

Civil night at Motherwell starts June at 4 h 43 min and reaches 4 h 17 min by June 30, 0.4 hours shorter. No night keeps the 10 PM to 2 AM window fully dark at Motherwell. The sun never reaches 18 degrees down, so Motherwell gets no astronomical night in June.

June night by night

June opens toward a new moon on Jun 4, with full moon on Jun 19, in Europe/London dates. Motherwell gets 58 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: Jun 1 (3 h 8 min), Jun 2 (3 h 6 min), Jun 3 (3 h 4 min).

1
11% lit
4.0 h
2
5% lit
4.2 h
3
1% lit
4.6 h
4
0% lit
4.6 h
New
5
2% lit
4.0 h
6
7% lit
3.3 h
7
14% lit
2.8 h
8
23% lit
2.5 h
9
33% lit
2.3 h
10
45% lit
2.1 h
11
56% lit
2.0 h
12
66% lit
1.9 h
13
76% lit
1.7 h
14
84% lit
1.5 h
15
91% lit
1.2 h
16
96% lit
0.8 h
17
99% lit
0.2 h
18
100% lit
0.0 h
19
99% lit
0.0 h
Full
20
97% lit
0.4 h
21
92% lit
0.7 h
22
87% lit
0.8 h
23
80% lit
1.0 h
24
71% lit
1.1 h
25
62% lit
1.2 h
26
53% lit
1.4 h
27
42% lit
1.5 h
28
32% lit
1.7 h
29
23% lit
1.9 h
30
14% lit
2.3 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 Junes

Motherwell needs Kp 4 for the average oval edge to sit overhead. 182 of the 900 June days from 1996 to 2025 (20%) reached it in the GFZ Potsdam record, one of the three quietest months for that level; storm days with Kp 5 or more made up 8%. Motherwell sits at 58.1 degrees geomagnetic. By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 4, and aurora is usually visible on the northern horizon at G1 (Kp 5) or less.

June across United Kingdom

Motherwell ranks 23rd in United Kingdom for civil night on June 15, behind Stoke-on-Trent at 5.2 hours. Coming from May (5.9 hours at Motherwell), June loses darkness, and the nights keep growing into July (5.0 hours on the 15th). The June solstice falls on June 21, 15:07 Motherwell time.

Civil night on June 15 and June cloud, month-page towns in United Kingdom
Town	Civil night	Cloud
Stoke-on-Trent	5.2 h	75%
Mansfield	5.2 h	77%
Manchester, England	5.1 h	75%
Sheffield	5.1 h	77%
Liverpool	5.1 h	75%
St Helens	5.1 h	75%
Chesterfield	5.1 h	77%
Lincoln	5.1 h	77%
Leeds	5.0 h	77%
Kingston upon Hull	5.0 h	77%
Preston	5.0 h	75%
Burnley	5.0 h	75%
Motherwell	4.2 h	82%

Darkness and moon, every night

Motherwell, June 2027: each night from local noon to the next noon
Night	Civil	Moon-free dark	Moon-free, 10 PM to 2 AM	Moon lit
Tue Jun 1	4 h 43 min	3 h 57 min	3 h 8 min	11%
Wed Jun 2	4 h 40 min	4 h 13 min	3 h 6 min	5%
Thu Jun 3	4 h 37 min	4 h 37 min	3 h 4 min	1%
Fri Jun 4	4 h 34 min	4 h 34 min	3 h 3 min	0%
Sat Jun 5	4 h 31 min	4 h 2 min	2 h 32 min	2%
Sun Jun 6	4 h 29 min	3 h 18 min	1 h 49 min	7%
Mon Jun 7	4 h 26 min	2 h 50 min	1 h 23 min	14%
Tue Jun 8	4 h 24 min	2 h 32 min	1 h 6 min	23%
Wed Jun 9	4 h 21 min	2 h 19 min	54 min	33%
Thu Jun 10	4 h 19 min	2 h 9 min	44 min	45%
Fri Jun 11	4 h 17 min	2 h	36 min	56%
Sat Jun 12	4 h 16 min	1 h 52 min	28 min	66%
Sun Jun 13	4 h 14 min	1 h 42 min	19 min	76%
Mon Jun 14	4 h 13 min	1 h 29 min	7 min	84%
Tue Jun 15	4 h 12 min	1 h 13 min	0 min	91%
Wed Jun 16	4 h 11 min	48 min	0 min	96%
Thu Jun 17	4 h 10 min	12 min	0 min	99%
Fri Jun 18	4 h 9 min	0 min	0 min	100%
Sat Jun 19	4 h 9 min	0 min	0 min	99%
Sun Jun 20	4 h 9 min	22 min	22 min	97%
Mon Jun 21	4 h 9 min	39 min	39 min	92%
Tue Jun 22	4 h 9 min	51 min	51 min	87%
Wed Jun 23	4 h 9 min	1 h	1 h	80%
Thu Jun 24	4 h 10 min	1 h 7 min	1 h 7 min	71%
Fri Jun 25	4 h 10 min	1 h 14 min	1 h 14 min	62%
Sat Jun 26	4 h 11 min	1 h 22 min	1 h 22 min	53%
Sun Jun 27	4 h 13 min	1 h 30 min	1 h 30 min	42%
Mon Jun 28	4 h 14 min	1 h 41 min	1 h 41 min	32%
Tue Jun 29	4 h 15 min	1 h 56 min	1 h 56 min	23%
Wed Jun 30	4 h 17 min	2 h 19 min	2 h 19 min	14%

Moon lit: SunCalc illuminated fraction at the middle of the 10 PM to 2 AM window.

Questions

Can you see the northern lights in Motherwell in June?: On dark, clear nights with enough activity. 30 of 30 nights at Motherwell have civil darkness, and 20% of past June days reached Kp 4.
How dark is Motherwell in June?: Motherwell averages 4.3 hours of civil night a night in June 2027, from 4 h 43 min on the 1st to 4 h 17 min on the last night.
How cloudy is Motherwell in June?: NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology gives Motherwell's 1 degree cell 82% mean cloud in June, against 77% for the whole year. It is an all-hours average, not a forecast.
What is the best night in June 2027 for aurora in Motherwell?: By darkness and moon alone, Jun 1, with 3 h 8 min of moon-free darkness inside 10 PM to 2 AM at Motherwell. Activity on that date will only be known hours ahead.
Is June or July better in Motherwell?: By civil night times the clear share, June scores 0.8 hours at Motherwell and July 1.1. July 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.