Saskatchewan, Canada
Northern lights in Swift Current
Answer
Tonight
Darkness window open
Civil darkness has begun.
Observed 11:55 UTC, forecast 13:26 UTC, 91 min lead
Clock times in America/Swift_Current
Storm level needed
Swift Current sits at 50.28N 107.80W in Saskatchewan, Canada. The IGRF-14 centered dipole puts Swift Current at 57.5 degrees geomagnetic latitude, 7.2 degrees closer to the magnetic pole than its map latitude suggests. Swift Current sits at 57.5 degrees geomagnetic. By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 5, 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 Moose Jaw (161 km), Medicine Hat (207 km), Saskatoon (220 km). Moose Jaw sits 0.4 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 Swift Current has some civil darkness; the shortest month sample still has 6.0 hours. Every evening of the year at Swift Current clears Glow's dark-season bar of 4 hours of civil night between 18:00 and 06:00. Swift Current's longest night of the year, Dec 17, has 14 h 34 min of civil night.
Solar midnight at Swift Current, when the sun is lowest, falls at 01:06 on local clocks on December 15 and 01:12 on June 15. That is 1 h 6 min after midnight in December and 1 h 12 min after midnight in June, the gap set by daylight saving and the equation of time. So at Swift Current the darkest hour sits late in SWPC's 10 PM to 2 AM window.
Month by month
| Month | Night | Civil | Cloud | Clear dark | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 14.1 h | 11.5 h | 69% | 4.4 h | |
| Feb | 12.6 h | 10.1 h | 67% | 4.2 h | |
| Mar | 10.9 h | 8.3 h | 69% | 3.4 h | |
| Apr | 8.9 h | 5.9 h | 67% | 2.9 h | |
| May | 7.0 h | 2.6 h | 63% | 2.6 h | |
| Jun | 6.0 h | 0.0 h | 62% | 2.3 h | |
| Jul | 6.5 h | 0.0 h | 48% | 3.4 h | |
| Aug | 8.2 h | 4.9 h | 53% | 3.9 h | |
| Sep | 10.2 h | 7.5 h | 55% | 4.6 hbest | |
| Oct | 12.1 h | 9.6 h | 63% | 4.5 h | |
| Nov | 13.7 h | 11.1 h | 70% | 4.1 h | |
| Dec | 14.6 h | 11.8 h | 71% | 4.2 h |
By the 15th-of-the-month sample, December is the darkest month at Swift Current with 14.6 hours of civil night and June the lightest at 6.0. Across the year Swift Current gets 3,793 hours of civil night. Astronomical night at Swift Current, the sun 18 degrees or more below the horizon, lasts 11.8 hours on December 15.
NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 all-hours climatology puts mean cloud amount for the 1 degree cell around Swift Current at 63% across the year, from 48% in July to 71% in December. In the months with at least 4 hours of civil night Swift Current averages 63%, against a median of 67% for Glow towns in Canada.
Multiplying civil night by the clear share of the sky gives September the best score, 4.6 hours, ahead of October at 4.5. Swift Current's equinox months score 3.4 in March and 4.6 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 5 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge over Swift Current, on 10% of days. At Swift Current's level the share runs from 5% in December to 14% 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 5. 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/Swift_Current dates. 15 of the 30 nights at Swift Current have at least 2 moon-free dark hours inside 10 PM to 2 AM, and Oct 5 has the most at 4 h. Tonight Swift Current has 11 h 13 min of civil night, 1 h 45 min of it with the moon down.
- 1
65% lit
1.8 h
- 2
54% lit
2.9 h
- 3
42% lit
4.2 h
- 4
31% lit
5.7 h
- 5
21% lit
7.1 h
- 6
13% lit
8.5 h
- 7
7% lit
9.9 h
- 8
2% lit
11.2 h
- 9
0% lit
11.7 h
- 10
1% lit
11.8 h
- 11
3% lit
11.8 h
- 12
7% lit
11.9 h
- 13
13% lit
11.8 h
- 14
20% lit
11.3 h
- 15
28% lit
10.5 h
- 16
37% lit
9.6 h
- 17
46% lit
8.6 h
- 18
56% lit
7.4 h
- 19
65% lit
6.2 h
- 20
74% lit
5.0 h
- 21
82% lit
3.8 h
- 22
90% lit
2.5 h
- 23
95% lit
1.3 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
0.6 h
- 29
78% lit
1.6 h
- 30
68% lit
2.9 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.
Within Canada
Among the 7 Glow towns in Saskatchewan, Swift Current ranks 7th by dipole latitude against a regional median of 58.9 degrees; Prince Albert sits highest at 60.6. Among the 130 Glow towns in Canada, Swift Current ranks 38th by dipole latitude against a national median of 55.3 degrees; Yellowknife sits highest at 68.5. On December 15 Swift Current gets 14.6 hours of civil night, 22nd longest of 130 in Canada, where the median is 14.2.
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Swift Current?
- Swift Current sits at 57.5 degrees geomagnetic. By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 5, and aurora is usually visible on the northern horizon at G1 (Kp 5) or less. Clear, dark sky over Swift Current still decides it.
- When is it dark enough in Swift Current?
- Every night at Swift Current has civil darkness. Tonight has 11 h 13 min, and December 15 has 14.6 hours.
- What is the best month for aurora in Swift Current?
- September, by civil night at Swift Current times the clear share of the sky from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 average.
- How cloudy is Swift Current in the dark months?
- About 63% mean cloud amount over Swift Current 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 Swift Current?
- A 3-hour Kp of 5 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge overhead, occurred on 10% of days from 1996 to 2025 in the GFZ Potsdam record.
Nearby and related
Nearest Glow towns
Swift Current by month
Region and comparisons