Can you see the northern lights in Murmansk in February?

On dark, clear nights with enough activity. 28 of 28 nights at Murmansk have civil darkness, and 8% of past February days reached Kp 5.

How dark is Murmansk in February?

Murmansk averages 14.0 hours of civil night a night in February 2027, from 15 h 41 min on the 1st to 12 h 17 min on the last night.

How cloudy is Murmansk in February?

NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology gives Murmansk's 1 degree cell 77% mean cloud in February, against 80% for the whole year. It is an all-hours average, not a forecast.

What is the best night in February 2027 for aurora in Murmansk?

By darkness and moon alone, Feb 1, with 4 h of moon-free darkness inside 10 PM to 2 AM at Murmansk. Activity on that date will only be known hours ahead.

Is February or March better in Murmansk?

By civil night times the clear share, February scores 3.2 hours at Murmansk and March 2.3. February comes out ahead.

Murmansk · February 2027

Northern lights in Murmansk in February 2027

Answer

February gives Murmansk 13.9 hours of civil night on the 15th, the 4th darkest of its 12 months, under 77% mean cloud. 8% of February days since 1996 reached storm level, Kp 5.

14.0 h

civil night, average night

SunCalc for 68.97, 33.10; NASA POWER; GFZ Kp

February against the rest of the year

3.8

3.2

2.3

1.1

0.0

0.4

1.5

1.4

2.5

3.0

February cloud at Murmansk averages 77% in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record, 3 points clearer than its yearly mean. July is Murmansk's clearest month at 75%. By civil night times clear sky, February scores 3.2 hours at Murmansk, 2nd of 12. Severomorsk, 17 km away, averages 82%, cloudier by 5 points.

Civil night at Murmansk starts February at 15 h 41 min and reaches 12 h 17 min by February 28, 3.4 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 9.4 hours on the 15th.

February night by night

February opens toward a new moon on Feb 6, with full moon on Feb 21, in Europe/Moscow dates. Murmansk gets 216 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: Feb 1 (4 h), Feb 2 (4 h), Feb 3 (4 h).

1
19% lit
15.7 h
2
12% lit
15.6 h
3
7% lit
15.4 h
4
3% lit
15.3 h
5
1% lit
15.2 h
6
0% lit
15.1 h
New
7
1% lit
14.9 h
8
5% lit
13.0 h
9
10% lit
11.2 h
10
17% lit
9.2 h
11
25% lit
7.0 h
12
35% lit
3.8 h
13
45% lit
0.0 h
14
56% lit
0.0 h
15
67% lit
0.0 h
16
78% lit
0.0 h
17
87% lit
0.0 h
18
94% lit
0.0 h
19
98% lit
0.0 h
20
100% lit
0.0 h
21
99% lit
0.3 h
Full
22
95% lit
2.4 h
23
89% lit
4.5 h
24
81% lit
7.2 h
25
73% lit
12.7 h
26
63% lit
12.6 h
27
53% lit
12.4 h
28
44% lit
12.3 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 Februarys

Quiet activity already puts the oval edge over Murmansk, so storm days matter more: 67 of the 848 February days from 1996 to 2025 (8%) reached Kp 5, one of the three quietest months for that level. Murmansk sits at 64.9 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 1.

February across Russia

Murmansk ranks 8th in Russia for civil night on February 15, behind Norilsk at 14.0 hours. Coming from January (17.5 hours at Murmansk), February loses darkness, and March brings shorter nights (10.2 hours on the 15th).

Civil night on February 15 and February cloud, month-page towns in Russia
Town	Civil night	Cloud
Norilsk	14.0 h	60%
Talnakh	14.0 h	60%
Severomorsk	14.0 h	82%
Kayyerkan	14.0 h	62%
Dudinka	14.0 h	62%
Zapolyarnyy	14.0 h	80%
Nikel	14.0 h	80%
Murmansk	13.9 h	77%
Olenegorsk	13.9 h	77%
Vorkuta	13.8 h	70%
Apatity	13.8 h	76%
Monchegorsk	13.8 h	76%

Darkness and moon, every night

Murmansk, February 2027: each night from local noon to the next noon
Night	Civil	Astronomical	Moon-free dark	Moon-free, 10 PM to 2 AM	Moon lit
Mon Feb 1	15 h 41 min	11 h	15 h 41 min	4 h	19%
Tue Feb 2	15 h 34 min	10 h 54 min	15 h 34 min	4 h	12%
Wed Feb 3	15 h 27 min	10 h 48 min	15 h 27 min	4 h	7%
Thu Feb 4	15 h 20 min	10 h 42 min	15 h 20 min	4 h	3%
Fri Feb 5	15 h 13 min	10 h 36 min	15 h 13 min	4 h	1%
Sat Feb 6	15 h 5 min	10 h 29 min	15 h 5 min	4 h	0%
Sun Feb 7	14 h 58 min	10 h 23 min	14 h 57 min	4 h	1%
Mon Feb 8	14 h 51 min	10 h 16 min	13 h 1 min	4 h	5%
Tue Feb 9	14 h 43 min	10 h 9 min	11 h 9 min	4 h	10%
Wed Feb 10	14 h 36 min	10 h 3 min	9 h 14 min	2 h 56 min	17%
Thu Feb 11	14 h 28 min	9 h 56 min	7 h	56 min	25%
Fri Feb 12	14 h 21 min	9 h 49 min	3 h 48 min	0 min	35%
Sat Feb 13	14 h 13 min	9 h 42 min	0 min	0 min	45%
Sun Feb 14	14 h 6 min	9 h 34 min	0 min	0 min	56%
Mon Feb 15	13 h 58 min	9 h 27 min	0 min	0 min	67%
Tue Feb 16	13 h 51 min	9 h 20 min	0 min	0 min	78%
Wed Feb 17	13 h 43 min	9 h 12 min	0 min	0 min	87%
Thu Feb 18	13 h 35 min	9 h 4 min	0 min	0 min	94%
Fri Feb 19	13 h 28 min	8 h 57 min	0 min	0 min	98%
Sat Feb 20	13 h 20 min	8 h 49 min	0 min	0 min	100%
Sun Feb 21	13 h 12 min	8 h 41 min	20 min	0 min	99%
Mon Feb 22	13 h 4 min	8 h 32 min	2 h 23 min	0 min	95%
Tue Feb 23	12 h 57 min	8 h 24 min	4 h 32 min	57 min	89%
Wed Feb 24	12 h 49 min	8 h 16 min	7 h 14 min	3 h 12 min	81%
Thu Feb 25	12 h 41 min	8 h 7 min	12 h 41 min	4 h	73%
Fri Feb 26	12 h 33 min	7 h 58 min	12 h 33 min	4 h	63%
Sat Feb 27	12 h 25 min	7 h 50 min	12 h 25 min	4 h	53%
Sun Feb 28	12 h 17 min	7 h 41 min	12 h 17 min	4 h	44%

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

Questions

Can you see the northern lights in Murmansk in February?: On dark, clear nights with enough activity. 28 of 28 nights at Murmansk have civil darkness, and 8% of past February days reached Kp 5.
How dark is Murmansk in February?: Murmansk averages 14.0 hours of civil night a night in February 2027, from 15 h 41 min on the 1st to 12 h 17 min on the last night.
How cloudy is Murmansk in February?: NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology gives Murmansk's 1 degree cell 77% mean cloud in February, against 80% for the whole year. It is an all-hours average, not a forecast.
What is the best night in February 2027 for aurora in Murmansk?: By darkness and moon alone, Feb 1, with 4 h of moon-free darkness inside 10 PM to 2 AM at Murmansk. Activity on that date will only be known hours ahead.
Is February or March better in Murmansk?: By civil night times the clear share, February scores 3.2 hours at Murmansk and March 2.3. February 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.