West Fargo · May 2027
Northern lights in West Fargo in May 2027
Answer
May against the rest of the year
May cloud at West Fargo averages 61% in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record, 2 points cloudier than its yearly mean. July is West Fargo's clearest month at 48%. By civil night times clear sky, May scores 3.0 hours at West Fargo, 11th of 12. Fargo, 8 km away, averages the same 61%.
Civil night at West Fargo starts May at 8 h 19 min and reaches 6 h 59 min by May 31, 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 4.1 hours on the 15th.
May night by night
May opens toward a new moon on May 6, with full moon on May 20, in America/Chicago dates. West Fargo gets 120 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: May 1 (4 h), May 2 (4 h), May 3 (4 h).
- 1
20% lit
7.0 h
- 2
12% lit
7.3 h
- 3
6% lit
7.6 h
- 4
2% lit
7.9 h
- 5
0% lit
8.1 h
- 6
1% lit
7.7 h
- 7
4% lit
6.4 h
- 8
10% lit
5.2 h
- 9
18% lit
4.3 h
- 10
28% lit
3.6 h
- 11
39% lit
3.0 h
- 12
50% lit
2.6 h
- 13
61% lit
2.2 h
- 14
72% lit
1.9 h
- 15
81% lit
1.6 h
- 16
89% lit
1.2 h
- 17
94% lit
0.8 h
- 18
98% lit
0.4 h
- 19
100% lit
0.0 h
- 20
99% lit
0.3 h
- 21
97% lit
1.3 h
- 22
93% lit
2.1 h
- 23
87% lit
2.8 h
- 24
80% lit
3.3 h
- 25
72% lit
3.6 h
- 26
63% lit
4.0 h
- 27
54% lit
4.2 h
- 28
44% lit
4.5 h
- 29
34% lit
4.7 h
- 30
25% lit
5.0 h
- 31
16% lit
5.3 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 Mays
West Fargo needs Kp 6 for the average oval edge to sit overhead. 39 of the 930 May days from 1996 to 2025 (4%) reached it in the GFZ Potsdam record, 4th of 12 months; storm days with Kp 5 or more made up 10%. West Fargo sits at 55.1 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.
May across United States
West Fargo ranks 4th in United States for civil night on May 15, behind Buffalo at 8.1 hours. Coming from April (9.2 hours at West Fargo), May loses darkness, and June brings shorter nights (6.7 hours on the 15th).
| Town | Civil night | Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| Buffalo | 8.1 h | 65% |
| Portland, Maine | 8.0 h | 66% |
| Minneapolis | 7.9 h | 63% |
| West Fargo | 7.6 h | 61% |
| Duluth | 7.6 h | 65% |
| Fargo | 7.6 h | 61% |
| Seattle | 7.5 h | 70% |
| Juneau | 5.1 h | 74% |
| Anchorage | 3.8 h | 79% |
| Eagle River | 3.7 h | 79% |
| Fairbanks | 0.0 h | 70% |
Darkness and moon, every night
| Night | Civil | Astronomical | Moon-free dark | Moon-free, 10 PM to 2 AM | Moon lit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat May 1 | 8 h 19 min | 5 h 15 min | 7 h 2 min | 4 h | 20% |
| Sun May 2 | 8 h 16 min | 5 h 10 min | 7 h 17 min | 4 h | 12% |
| Mon May 3 | 8 h 12 min | 5 h 5 min | 7 h 35 min | 4 h | 6% |
| Tue May 4 | 8 h 9 min | 5 h | 7 h 55 min | 4 h | 2% |
| Wed May 5 | 8 h 6 min | 4 h 55 min | 8 h 6 min | 4 h | 0% |
| Thu May 6 | 8 h 3 min | 4 h 50 min | 7 h 43 min | 4 h | 1% |
| Fri May 7 | 8 h | 4 h 45 min | 6 h 24 min | 3 h | 4% |
| Sat May 8 | 7 h 57 min | 4 h 40 min | 5 h 14 min | 1 h 52 min | 10% |
| Sun May 9 | 7 h 54 min | 4 h 35 min | 4 h 17 min | 57 min | 18% |
| Mon May 10 | 7 h 51 min | 4 h 31 min | 3 h 34 min | 15 min | 28% |
| Tue May 11 | 7 h 48 min | 4 h 26 min | 3 h 1 min | 0 min | 39% |
| Wed May 12 | 7 h 45 min | 4 h 21 min | 2 h 35 min | 0 min | 50% |
| Thu May 13 | 7 h 42 min | 4 h 16 min | 2 h 13 min | 0 min | 61% |
| Fri May 14 | 7 h 39 min | 4 h 11 min | 1 h 52 min | 0 min | 72% |
| Sat May 15 | 7 h 37 min | 4 h 6 min | 1 h 33 min | 0 min | 81% |
| Sun May 16 | 7 h 34 min | 4 h 1 min | 1 h 12 min | 0 min | 89% |
| Mon May 17 | 7 h 31 min | 3 h 56 min | 50 min | 0 min | 94% |
| Tue May 18 | 7 h 28 min | 3 h 51 min | 23 min | 0 min | 98% |
| Wed May 19 | 7 h 26 min | 3 h 46 min | 0 min | 0 min | 100% |
| Thu May 20 | 7 h 23 min | 3 h 41 min | 21 min | 3 min | 99% |
| Fri May 21 | 7 h 21 min | 3 h 36 min | 1 h 19 min | 1 h 3 min | 97% |
| Sat May 22 | 7 h 18 min | 3 h 31 min | 2 h 7 min | 1 h 52 min | 93% |
| Sun May 23 | 7 h 16 min | 3 h 27 min | 2 h 45 min | 2 h 32 min | 87% |
| Mon May 24 | 7 h 14 min | 3 h 22 min | 3 h 15 min | 3 h 2 min | 80% |
| Tue May 25 | 7 h 11 min | 3 h 17 min | 3 h 38 min | 3 h 27 min | 72% |
| Wed May 26 | 7 h 9 min | 3 h 12 min | 3 h 57 min | 3 h 47 min | 63% |
| Thu May 27 | 7 h 7 min | 3 h 8 min | 4 h 13 min | 4 h | 54% |
| Fri May 28 | 7 h 5 min | 3 h 3 min | 4 h 28 min | 4 h | 44% |
| Sat May 29 | 7 h 3 min | 2 h 58 min | 4 h 44 min | 4 h | 34% |
| Sun May 30 | 7 h 1 min | 2 h 54 min | 5 h | 4 h | 25% |
| Mon May 31 | 6 h 59 min | 2 h 50 min | 5 h 19 min | 4 h | 16% |
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in West Fargo in May?
- On dark, clear nights with enough activity. 31 of 31 nights at West Fargo have civil darkness, and 4% of past May days reached Kp 6.
- How dark is West Fargo in May?
- West Fargo averages 7.6 hours of civil night a night in May 2027, from 8 h 19 min on the 1st to 6 h 59 min on the last night.
- How cloudy is West Fargo in May?
- NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology gives West Fargo's 1 degree cell 61% mean cloud in May, against 59% for the whole year. It is an all-hours average, not a forecast.
- What is the best night in May 2027 for aurora in West Fargo?
- By darkness and moon alone, May 1, with 4 h of moon-free darkness inside 10 PM to 2 AM at West Fargo. Activity on that date will only be known hours ahead.
- Is May or June better in West Fargo?
- By civil night times the clear share, May scores 3.0 hours at West Fargo and June 2.9. May comes out ahead.
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.