Komi, Russia
Northern lights in Vorkuta
Answer
Tonight
Waiting on darkness
It is not civil-dark yet. The next dusk is listed below.
Observed 11:49 UTC, forecast 13:20 UTC, 91 min lead
Clock times in Europe/Moscow
Storm level needed
Vorkuta sits at 67.51N 64.07E in Komi, Russia. The IGRF-14 centered dipole puts Vorkuta at 60.2 degrees geomagnetic latitude, 7.4 degrees farther from the magnetic pole than its map latitude suggests. Vorkuta sits at 60.2 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.
"The best place to observe the aurora is under an oval shaped region between the north and south latitudes of about 60 and 75 degrees. At these polar latitudes, the aurora can be observed more than half of the nights of a given year."
The nearest other Glow towns are Vorgashor (14 km), Labytnangi (139 km), Salekhard (155 km). Vorgashor sits 0.1 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
From May 4 to August 7 the sun never reaches -6 degrees, so 96 nights in 2026 have no civil darkness at all. SWPC puts it plainly: "It must also be dark so during the summer months at auroral latitudes, the midnight sun prevents auroral observations." Glow's dark season, at least 4 hours of civil night between 18:00 and 06:00, runs from August 18 to April 24 across New Year, 250 days in 2026. Vorkuta's longest night of the year, Dec 21, has 18 h 13 min of civil night.
Solar midnight at Vorkuta, when the sun is lowest, falls at 22:39 on local clocks on December 15 and 22:44 on June 15. That is 1 h 21 min before midnight in December and 1 h 16 min before midnight in June, the gap set by daylight saving and the equation of time. So at Vorkuta the darkest hour sits early in SWPC's 10 PM to 2 AM window.
Month by month
| Month | Night | Civil | Cloud | Clear dark | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 17.0 h | 12.3 h | 65% | 5.9 hbest | |
| Feb | 13.8 h | 9.6 h | 70% | 4.1 h | |
| Mar | 10.3 h | 5.5 h | 72% | 2.9 h | |
| Apr | 5.8 h | 0.0 h | 75% | 1.4 h | |
| May | 0.0 h | 0.0 h | 76% | 0.0 h | |
| Jun | 0.0 h | 0.0 h | 76% | 0.0 h | |
| Jul | 0.0 h | 0.0 h | 66% | 0.0 h | |
| Aug | 3.5 h | 0.0 h | 81% | 0.7 h | |
| Sep | 8.8 h | 2.5 h | 80% | 1.8 h | |
| Oct | 12.6 h | 8.3 h | 88% | 1.5 h | |
| Nov | 16.0 h | 11.5 h | 74% | 4.2 h | |
| Dec | 18.1 h | 13.1 h | 70% | 5.4 h |
By the 15th-of-the-month sample, December is the darkest month at Vorkuta with 18.1 hours of civil night and May the lightest at 0.0. Across the year Vorkuta gets 3,192 hours of civil night. Astronomical night at Vorkuta, the sun 18 degrees or more below the horizon, lasts 13.1 hours on December 15.
NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 all-hours climatology puts mean cloud amount for the 1 degree cell around Vorkuta at 75% across the year, from 65% in January to 88% in October. In the months with at least 4 hours of civil night Vorkuta averages 74%, against a median of 77% for Glow towns in Russia.
Multiplying civil night by the clear share of the sky gives January the best score, 5.9 hours, ahead of December at 5.4. Vorkuta's equinox months score 2.9 in March and 1.8 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 3 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge over Vorkuta, on 50% of days. At Vorkuta's level the share runs from 43% in June to 58% in March, 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 3. Kp history by year
Moon, next 30 nights
Over the 30 nights from Oct 2, the new moon falls on Oct 10 and the full moon on Oct 26, in Europe/Moscow dates. 15 of the 30 nights at Vorkuta have at least 2 moon-free dark hours inside 10 PM to 2 AM, and Oct 8 has the most at 4 h. Tonight Vorkuta has 10 h 58 min of civil night, 0 min of it with the moon down.
- 2
58% lit
0.0 h
- 3
47% lit
0.0 h
- 4
35% lit
0.0 h
- 5
25% lit
4.3 h
- 6
16% lit
6.6 h
- 7
9% lit
8.7 h
- 8
4% lit
10.7 h
- 9
1% lit
11.8 h
- 10
0% lit
11.9 h
- 11
2% lit
12.1 h
- 12
5% lit
12.2 h
- 13
10% lit
12.3 h
- 14
17% lit
12.4 h
- 15
25% lit
12.6 h
- 16
33% lit
12.7 h
- 17
43% lit
12.8 h
- 18
52% lit
12.9 h
- 19
62% lit
9.9 h
- 20
71% lit
7.6 h
- 21
79% lit
5.7 h
- 22
87% lit
3.9 h
- 23
93% lit
2.1 h
- 24
98% lit
0.2 h
- 25
100% lit
0.0 h
- 26
99% lit
0.0 h
- 27
96% lit
0.0 h
- 28
90% lit
0.0 h
- 29
82% lit
0.0 h
- 30
72% lit
0.0 h
- 31
61% lit
0.0 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 Russia
Among the 9 Glow towns in Komi, Vorkuta ranks 2nd by dipole latitude against a regional median of 58.5 degrees; Vorgashor sits highest at 60.3. Among the 77 Glow towns in Russia, Vorkuta ranks 19th by dipole latitude against a national median of 57.3 degrees; Nikel sits highest at 65.7. On December 15 Vorkuta gets 18.1 hours of civil night, 15th longest of 77 in Russia, where the median is 16.7.
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Vorkuta?
- Vorkuta sits at 60.2 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. Clear, dark sky over Vorkuta still decides it.
- When is it dark enough in Vorkuta?
- Civil night, the sun at -6 degrees or lower, is missing from May 4 to Aug 7. Tonight has 10 h 58 min of it.
- What is the best month for aurora in Vorkuta?
- January, by civil night at Vorkuta times the clear share of the sky from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 average.
- How cloudy is Vorkuta in the dark months?
- About 74% mean cloud amount over Vorkuta 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 Vorkuta?
- A 3-hour Kp of 3 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge overhead, occurred on 50% of days from 1996 to 2025 in the GFZ Potsdam record.
Nearby and related
Nearest Glow towns
Vorkuta by month
Region and comparisons