Yellowknife vs Fairbanks

Aurora forecast comparison — updated hourly

Tonight's Verdict

🇨🇦

Yellowknife

Peak: Sep–Mar

Skip it

Maybe

Book it

✅ Great night — book it!

Kp tonight2.7

Clouds (ECMWF)3%

Aurora probability11%

🇺🇸

Fairbanks

Peak: Sep–Mar

Skip it

Maybe

Book it

✅ Great night — book it!

Kp tonight2.7

Clouds (ECMWF)10%

Aurora probability18%

Head-to-Head

Metric🇨🇦 Yellowknife🇺🇸 Fairbanks

Latitude62.5°N64.8°N

Kp for overhead auroraKp 1+Kp 1+

Kp for good displayKp 2+Kp 2+

Cloud cover (ECMWF)3%10%

Cloud cover (GFS)47%66%

Dark hours1.9h4.7h

Aurora probability11%18%

Solar wind speed––

Bz value––

Best window tonight00h (2%)22h (5%)

Highlighted cell = better value for aurora viewing

Next 3 Nights

Night🇨🇦 Yellowknife🇺🇸 Fairbanks

Wed, Aug 12

✓

Kp 2.7

✓

10%

Kp 2.7

Thu, Aug 13

✓

Kp 3.0

✗

99%

Kp 3.0

Fri, Aug 14

60%

Kp 4.0

✗

80%

Kp 4.0

Which should I choose?

Yellowknife vs Fairbanks — Which should I choose?

Both cities require Kp 1+ to see aurora overhead, placing them at a similar position relative to the auroral oval. Fairbanks offers 4.7h of darkness tonight — a longer window to catch a display. Yellowknife: Canada's aurora capital — over 240 clear aurora-viewing nights per year. Fairbanks: Directly under the auroral oval — one of Earth's top aurora hot spots.

Full Forecasts

🇨🇦View full Yellowknife forecast→🇺🇸View full Fairbanks forecast→