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Sault Ste. Marie · February 2027

Northern lights in Sault Ste. Marie in February 2027

Answer

February gives Sault Ste. Marie 12.5 hours of civil night on the 15th, the 4th darkest of its 12 months, under 78% mean cloud. 1% of February days since 1996 reached Kp 6, enough for the oval edge to reach Sault Ste. Marie.
12.5 h
civil night, average night
SunCalc for 46.52, -84.33; NASA POWER; GFZ Kp

February against the rest of the year

February cloud at Sault Ste. Marie averages 78% in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record, 3 points cloudier than its yearly mean. August is Sault Ste. Marie's clearest month at 66%. By civil night times clear sky, February scores 2.7 hours at Sault Ste. Marie, 6th of 12. Greater Sudbury, 256 km away, averages 66%, clearer by 12 points.

Civil night at Sault Ste. Marie starts February at 13 h 8 min and reaches 11 h 49 min by February 28, 1.3 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 10.1 hours on the 15th.

February night by night

February opens toward a new moon on Feb 6, with full moon on Feb 20, in America/Toronto dates. Sault Ste. Marie gets 185 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. 1

    17% lit

    11.6 h

  2. 2

    10% lit

    12.3 h

  3. 3

    5% lit

    12.9 h

  4. 4

    2% lit

    13.0 h

  5. 5

    0% lit

    13.0 h

  6. 6

    0% lit

    12.9 h

  7. 7

    2% lit

    12.2 h

  8. 8

    6% lit

    11.0 h

  9. 9

    12% lit

    9.9 h

  10. 10

    19% lit

    8.7 h

  11. 11

    28% lit

    7.5 h

  12. 12

    38% lit

    6.2 h

  13. 13

    49% lit

    4.9 h

  14. 14

    60% lit

    3.6 h

  15. 15

    71% lit

    2.5 h

  16. 16

    81% lit

    1.5 h

  17. 17

    89% lit

    0.7 h

  18. 18

    96% lit

    0.1 h

  19. 19

    99% lit

    0.0 h

  20. 20

    100% lit

    0.0 h

  21. 21

    98% lit

    0.8 h

  22. 22

    93% lit

    2.1 h

  23. 23

    87% lit

    3.3 h

  24. 24

    79% lit

    4.5 h

  25. 25

    70% lit

    5.8 h

  26. 26

    60% lit

    6.9 h

  27. 27

    50% lit

    8.0 h

  28. 28

    41% lit

    8.9 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

Sault Ste. Marie needs Kp 6 for the average oval edge to sit overhead. 11 of the 848 February days from 1996 to 2025 (1%) 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%. Sault Ste. Marie sits at 55.5 degrees geomagnetic. By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 6, and aurora is usually visible on the northern horizon at G1 (Kp 5) or less.

February across Canada

Sault Ste. Marie ranks 19th in Canada for civil night on February 15, behind Yellowknife at 13.3 hours. Coming from January (13.8 hours at Sault Ste. Marie), February loses darkness, and March brings shorter nights (11.0 hours on the 15th).

Civil night on February 15 and February cloud, month-page towns in Canada
TownCivil nightCloud
Yellowknife13.3 h51%
Whitehorse13.2 h61%
Grande Prairie12.9 h68%
Fort McMurray12.9 h66%
Fort St. John12.9 h67%
Edmonton12.8 h69%
Prince Albert12.8 h68%
Lloydminster12.8 h66%
Calgary12.7 h69%
Saskatoon12.7 h66%
Red Deer12.7 h70%
Winnipeg12.6 h56%
Sault Ste. Marie12.5 h78%

Darkness and moon, every night

Sault Ste. Marie, February 2027: each night from local noon to the next noon
NightCivilAstronomicalMoon-free darkMoon-free, 10 PM to 2 AMMoon lit
Mon Feb 113 h 8 min10 h 46 min11 h 38 min4 h17%
Tue Feb 213 h 6 min10 h 43 min12 h 20 min4 h10%
Wed Feb 313 h 3 min10 h 41 min12 h 53 min4 h5%
Thu Feb 413 h10 h 38 min13 h4 h2%
Fri Feb 512 h 58 min10 h 36 min12 h 58 min4 h0%
Sat Feb 612 h 55 min10 h 33 min12 h 55 min4 h0%
Sun Feb 712 h 52 min10 h 31 min12 h 11 min4 h2%
Mon Feb 812 h 49 min10 h 28 min11 h 2 min4 h6%
Tue Feb 912 h 47 min10 h 26 min9 h 53 min4 h12%
Wed Feb 1012 h 44 min10 h 23 min8 h 42 min3 h 29 min19%
Thu Feb 1112 h 41 min10 h 20 min7 h 29 min2 h 17 min28%
Fri Feb 1212 h 38 min10 h 17 min6 h 12 min1 h 2 min38%
Sat Feb 1312 h 35 min10 h 15 min4 h 54 min0 min49%
Sun Feb 1412 h 32 min10 h 12 min3 h 37 min0 min60%
Mon Feb 1512 h 29 min10 h 9 min2 h 27 min0 min71%
Tue Feb 1612 h 26 min10 h 6 min1 h 29 min0 min81%
Wed Feb 1712 h 23 min10 h 3 min44 min0 min89%
Thu Feb 1812 h 20 min10 h9 min0 min96%
Fri Feb 1912 h 17 min9 h 57 min0 min0 min99%
Sat Feb 2012 h 14 min9 h 54 min0 min0 min100%
Sun Feb 2112 h 11 min9 h 51 min47 min0 min98%
Mon Feb 2212 h 8 min9 h 48 min2 h 4 min0 min93%
Tue Feb 2312 h 5 min9 h 45 min3 h 19 min7 min87%
Wed Feb 2412 h 2 min9 h 42 min4 h 33 min1 h 22 min79%
Thu Feb 2511 h 59 min9 h 39 min5 h 46 min2 h 36 min70%
Fri Feb 2611 h 55 min9 h 36 min6 h 55 min3 h 47 min60%
Sat Feb 2711 h 52 min9 h 32 min7 h 58 min4 h50%
Sun Feb 2811 h 49 min9 h 29 min8 h 54 min4 h41%
Moon lit: SunCalc illuminated fraction at the middle of the 10 PM to 2 AM window.

Questions

Can you see the northern lights in Sault Ste. Marie in February?
On dark, clear nights with enough activity. 28 of 28 nights at Sault Ste. Marie have civil darkness, and 1% of past February days reached Kp 6.
How dark is Sault Ste. Marie in February?
Sault Ste. Marie averages 12.5 hours of civil night a night in February 2027, from 13 h 8 min on the 1st to 11 h 49 min on the last night.
How cloudy is Sault Ste. Marie in February?
NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology gives Sault Ste. Marie's 1 degree cell 78% mean cloud in February, against 75% for the whole year. It is an all-hours average, not a forecast.
What is the best night in February 2027 for aurora in Sault Ste. Marie?
By darkness and moon alone, Feb 1, with 4 h of moon-free darkness inside 10 PM to 2 AM at Sault Ste. Marie. Activity on that date will only be known hours ahead.
Is February or March better in Sault Ste. Marie?
By civil night times the clear share, February scores 2.7 hours at Sault Ste. Marie and March 3.0. March comes out ahead.

Sources and verification

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.