Can you see the northern lights in Norilsk in May?

Not in May 2027. The sun stays above -6 degrees every night at Norilsk, so there is no civil darkness.

How dark is Norilsk in May?

Norilsk averages 0.0 hours of civil night a night in May 2027, from 0 min on the 1st to 0 min on the last night.

How cloudy is Norilsk in May?

NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology gives Norilsk's 1 degree cell 68% mean cloud in May, against 68% for the whole year. It is an all-hours average, not a forecast.

What is the best night in May 2027 for aurora in Norilsk?

No night in May 2027 has moon-free darkness inside 10 PM to 2 AM at Norilsk.

Is May or June better in Norilsk?

By civil night times the clear share, May scores 0.0 hours at Norilsk and June 0.0. They are level.

Norilsk · May 2027

Northern lights in Norilsk in May 2027

Answer

Norilsk has no civil darkness in May 2027: the sun stays above -6 degrees on all 31 nights. SWPC notes that "It must also be dark so during the summer months at auroral latitudes, the midnight sun prevents auroral observations."

0.0 h

civil night, average night

SunCalc for 69.35, 88.20; NASA POWER; GFZ Kp

May against the rest of the year

8.0

5.6

3.7

1.6

0.0

0.3

1.5

2.6

6.6

8.0

May cloud at Norilsk averages 68% in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record, close to its yearly mean of 68%. January is Norilsk's clearest month at 55%. By civil night times clear sky, May scores 0.0 hours at Norilsk, 10th of 12. Talnakh, 17 km away, averages the same 68%.

The sun never gets 6 degrees below the horizon at Norilsk in May 2027, so every night is twilight or daylight. June 15 is still without civil night at Norilsk.

May night by night

The moon runs its cycle as usual, new on May 6 and full on May 20, but with no civil night it makes no difference at Norilsk in May.

1
24% lit
no night
2
16% lit
no night
3
9% lit
no night
4
4% lit
no night
5
1% lit
no night
6
0% lit
no night
New
7
2% lit
no night
8
7% lit
no night
9
14% lit
no night
10
23% lit
no night
11
33% lit
no night
12
45% lit
no night
13
56% lit
no night
14
67% lit
no night
15
77% lit
no night
16
85% lit
no night
17
92% lit
no night
18
97% lit
no night
19
99% lit
no night
20
100% lit
no night
Full
21
98% lit
no night
22
95% lit
no night
23
90% lit
no night
24
84% lit
no night
25
76% lit
no night
26
68% lit
no night
27
58% lit
no night
28
49% lit
no night
29
39% lit
no night
30
30% lit
no night
31
21% lit
no night

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 Mays

Norilsk needs Kp 3 for the average oval edge to sit overhead. 436 of the 930 May days from 1996 to 2025 (47%) reached it in the GFZ Potsdam record, 9th of 12 months; storm days with Kp 5 or more made up 10%. Norilsk sits at 60.5 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 3.

May across Russia

Norilsk ranks 8th in Russia for civil night on May 15, behind Velikiy Novgorod at 5.0 hours. Coming from April (5.0 hours at Norilsk), May loses darkness, and June holds about the same.

Civil night on May 15 and May cloud, month-page towns in Russia
Town	Civil night	Cloud
Velikiy Novgorod	5.0 h	61%
Saint Petersburg	4.5 h	63%
Kolpino	4.5 h	63%
Syktyvkar	3.6 h	66%
Petrozavodsk	3.5 h	73%
Noyabrsk	2.5 h	74%
Ukhta	2.1 h	68%
Norilsk	0.0 h	68%
Arkhangel'sk	0.0 h	70%
Murmansk	0.0 h	81%
Severodvinsk	0.0 h	71%
Vorkuta	0.0 h	76%

Darkness and moon, every night

Norilsk, May 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
Sat May 1	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	24%
Sun May 2	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	16%
Mon May 3	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	9%
Tue May 4	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	4%
Wed May 5	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	1%
Thu May 6	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	0%
Fri May 7	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	2%
Sat May 8	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	7%
Sun May 9	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	14%
Mon May 10	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	23%
Tue May 11	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	33%
Wed May 12	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	45%
Thu May 13	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	56%
Fri May 14	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	67%
Sat May 15	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	77%
Sun May 16	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	85%
Mon May 17	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	92%
Tue May 18	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	97%
Wed May 19	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	99%
Thu May 20	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	100%
Fri May 21	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	98%
Sat May 22	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	95%
Sun May 23	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	90%
Mon May 24	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	84%
Tue May 25	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	76%
Wed May 26	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	68%
Thu May 27	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	58%
Fri May 28	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	49%
Sat May 29	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	39%
Sun May 30	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	30%
Mon May 31	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	21%

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

Questions

Can you see the northern lights in Norilsk in May?: Not in May 2027. The sun stays above -6 degrees every night at Norilsk, so there is no civil darkness.
How dark is Norilsk in May?: Norilsk averages 0.0 hours of civil night a night in May 2027, from 0 min on the 1st to 0 min on the last night.
How cloudy is Norilsk in May?: NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology gives Norilsk's 1 degree cell 68% mean cloud in May, against 68% for the whole year. It is an all-hours average, not a forecast.
What is the best night in May 2027 for aurora in Norilsk?: No night in May 2027 has moon-free darkness inside 10 PM to 2 AM at Norilsk.
Is May or June better in Norilsk?: By civil night times the clear share, May scores 0.0 hours at Norilsk and June 0.0. They are level.

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.