Alberta, Canada
Northern lights in Stony Plain
Answer
Tonight
Darkness window open
Civil darkness has begun.
Observed 11:49 UTC, forecast 13:20 UTC, 91 min lead
Clock times in America/Edmonton
Storm level needed
Stony Plain sits at 53.53N 114.00W in Alberta, Canada. The IGRF-14 centered dipole puts Stony Plain at 59.9 degrees geomagnetic latitude, 6.4 degrees closer to the magnetic pole than its map latitude suggests. Stony Plain sits at 59.9 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.
"aurora is commonly visible at high latitudes (northern Michigan and Maine)"
The nearest other Glow towns are Spruce Grove (6 km), Edmonton (35 km), Leduc (42 km). Spruce Grove sits 0.0 degrees higher on the dipole and needs the same Kp.
Approximate: SWPC calls its Kp to latitude rule an average, and a centered dipole can differ by a degree from fuller field models. How the storm level is matched
The year in darkness
Every night of 2026 at Stony Plain has some civil darkness; the shortest month sample still has 5.0 hours. Every evening of the year at Stony Plain clears Glow's dark-season bar of 4 hours of civil night between 18:00 and 06:00. Stony Plain's longest night of the year, Dec 19, has 14 h 59 min of civil night.
Solar midnight at Stony Plain, when the sun is lowest, falls at 01:31 on local clocks on December 15 and 01:36 on June 15. That is 1 h 31 min after midnight in December and 1 h 36 min after midnight in June, the gap set by daylight saving and the equation of time. So at Stony Plain the darkest hour sits late in SWPC's 10 PM to 2 AM window.
Month by month
| Month | Night | Civil | Cloud | Clear dark | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 14.4 h | 11.6 h | 72% | 4.0 h | |
| Feb | 12.8 h | 10.1 h | 70% | 3.8 h | |
| Mar | 10.8 h | 8.1 h | 73% | 2.9 h | |
| Apr | 8.6 h | 5.1 h | 72% | 2.4 h | |
| May | 6.4 h | 0.0 h | 68% | 2.0 h | |
| Jun | 5.0 h | 0.0 h | 68% | 1.6 h | |
| Jul | 5.7 h | 0.0 h | 61% | 2.2 h | |
| Aug | 7.8 h | 3.8 h | 62% | 3.0 h | |
| Sep | 10.1 h | 7.1 h | 63% | 3.7 h | |
| Oct | 12.2 h | 9.4 h | 71% | 3.5 h | |
| Nov | 14.0 h | 11.2 h | 77% | 3.2 h | |
| Dec | 14.9 h | 12.0 h | 73% | 4.1 hbest |
By the 15th-of-the-month sample, December is the darkest month at Stony Plain with 15.0 hours of civil night and June the lightest at 5.0. Across the year Stony Plain gets 3,729 hours of civil night. Astronomical night at Stony Plain, the sun 18 degrees or more below the horizon, lasts 12.0 hours on December 15.
NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 all-hours climatology puts mean cloud amount for the 1 degree cell around Stony Plain at 69% across the year, from 61% in July to 77% in November. In the months with at least 4 hours of civil night Stony Plain averages 69%, against a median of 67% for Glow towns in Canada.
Multiplying civil night by the clear share of the sky gives December the best score, 4.1 hours, ahead of January at 4.0. Stony Plain's equinox months score 2.9 in March and 3.7 in September, the weeks SWPC links with larger storms.
Kp history
From 1996 to 2025, the GFZ Potsdam record shows a 3-hour Kp of 4 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge over Stony Plain, on 24% of days. At Stony Plain's level the share runs from 19% in December to 31% in September, while storm days with Kp 5 or more made up 10%.
Share of UTC days in each calendar month whose highest 3-hour Kp reached Kp 4. Kp history by year
Moon, next 30 nights
Over the 30 nights from Oct 1, the new moon falls on Oct 10 and the full moon on Oct 25, in America/Edmonton dates. 15 of the 30 nights at Stony Plain have at least 2 moon-free dark hours inside 10 PM to 2 AM, and Oct 5 has the most at 4 h. Tonight Stony Plain has 11 h 12 min of civil night, 1 h 20 min of it with the moon down.
- 1
65% lit
1.3 h
- 2
54% lit
2.5 h
- 3
42% lit
3.9 h
- 4
31% lit
5.4 h
- 5
21% lit
7.0 h
- 6
13% lit
8.5 h
- 7
7% lit
9.9 h
- 8
2% lit
11.3 h
- 9
0% lit
11.8 h
- 10
1% lit
11.8 h
- 11
3% lit
11.9 h
- 12
7% lit
11.9 h
- 13
13% lit
12.0 h
- 14
20% lit
11.7 h
- 15
28% lit
11.0 h
- 16
37% lit
10.1 h
- 17
46% lit
8.9 h
- 18
56% lit
7.7 h
- 19
65% lit
6.5 h
- 20
74% lit
5.2 h
- 21
82% lit
3.9 h
- 22
90% lit
2.6 h
- 23
95% lit
1.2 h
- 24
99% lit
0.0 h
- 25
100% lit
0.0 h
- 26
98% lit
0.0 h
- 27
94% lit
0.0 h
- 28
87% lit
0.3 h
- 29
78% lit
1.3 h
- 30
68% lit
2.7 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.
Within Canada
Among the 18 Glow towns in Alberta, Stony Plain ranks 7th by dipole latitude against a regional median of 59.1 degrees; Fort McMurray sits highest at 63.4. Among the 131 Glow towns in Canada, Stony Plain ranks 11th by dipole latitude against a national median of 55.3 degrees; Yellowknife sits highest at 68.5. On December 15 Stony Plain gets 15.0 hours of civil night, 7th longest of 131 in Canada, where the median is 14.2.
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Stony Plain?
- Stony Plain sits at 59.9 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. Clear, dark sky over Stony Plain still decides it.
- When is it dark enough in Stony Plain?
- Every night at Stony Plain has civil darkness. Tonight has 11 h 12 min, and December 15 has 15.0 hours.
- What is the best month for aurora in Stony Plain?
- December, by civil night at Stony Plain times the clear share of the sky from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 average.
- How cloudy is Stony Plain in the dark months?
- About 69% mean cloud amount over Stony Plain in the months with at least 4 hours of civil night, from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 all-hours climatology.
- How often is activity high enough for Stony Plain?
- A 3-hour Kp of 4 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge overhead, occurred on 24% of days from 1996 to 2025 in the GFZ Potsdam record.
- Why does this page point to Spruce Grove?
- Stony Plain sits within 15 km of Spruce Grove with the same rounded dipole latitude, Kp and dark season, so Glow treats Spruce Grove as the main page for both.
Nearby and related
Nearest Glow towns
Stony Plain by month
Region and comparisons