Aurora Borealis in Yukon
Canada · 60.72°, -135.05° · geomagnetic 63.8° · needs Kp 3
Tonight in Yukon
27%
Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Yukon needs Kp 3 before anything clears the northern horizon, and tonight the forecast peaks at Kp 4.7 — comfortably over the line.
Updated 2026-08-02 20:20 UTC
The next 30 nights in Yukon
Every night to come, scored the same way as tonight. The best of the open week is Sunday 2 Aug at 27%. 4 of the seven reach the Kp 3 that Yukon needs, topping out at Kp 4.7. The 23 nights past the seven-day window move with the 27-day solar rotation and are updated daily in the app.
Nights 8–30 unlock in the Revon app
Revon aurora model over the NOAA Kp forecast and 27-day outlook
How often the aurora borealis reaches Yukon
121.7 nights a year, averaged across 10.0 years of records
| Storm level | Nights / year |
|---|---|
| Kp 4 | 83.4 |
| Kp 5 | 28.7 |
| Kp 6 | 9.3 |
| Kp 7 | 3.2 |
| Kp 8 | 1.2 |
NOAA planetary Kp, 2016-04-02 to 2026-03-30
You are inside the auroral oval
Yukon sits far enough northern that quiet conditions are enough. What limits you here is cloud and moonlight, not geomagnetic activity.
Hours of true darkness, month by month
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12.1 | 10.2 | 7.5 | 2.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 6.1 | 9.4 | 11.6 | 12.6 |
Solar declination and hour angle at −18°
Nothing to see from May to August
Through those months the sun never falls more than 18° below the Yukon horizon, so the sky never darkens fully. Plan around the darker half of the year.
Getting clear of the light
Yukon is small enough that its own lights are a minor problem — the centre reads Bortle 3. Walking to the edge of town is often escape enough.
- 5 km north-east — around Whitehorse → Bortle 3
- 5 km north-east — around Whitehorse → Bortle 3
Falchi 2016 World Atlas (DOI: 10.5880/GFZ.1.4.2016.001)
The months that actually deliver
Counting only nights that were both stormy enough and dark enough, March, September and October came out ahead in Yukon. That is storm season and darkness overlapping — the equinoxes tend to be geomagnetically active, and the nights are already long by then.
Darkest nights of the coming year
A bright moon washes out a weak display as effectively as street lighting. These new moons fall inside the Yukon viewing season.
- 11 Sep 2026
- 11 Oct 2026
- 09 Nov 2026
- 09 Dec 2026
- 07 Jan 2027
- 06 Feb 2027
- 08 Mar 2027
Where it is close to a certainty
Whitehorse is close enough to reach and return in a night — 0 km north — and needs only Kp 3.
| Yukon | Whitehorse | |
|---|---|---|
| Kp needed | 3 | 3 |
| Nights per year | 121.7 | 171.4 |
| Geomagnetic latitude | 63.8° | 63.8° |
Confirmed reports from this area
18 verified sightings were logged within 300 km of Yukon between 2015-01-01 and 2016-12-31. Rare is not the same as impossible.
Aurorasaurus verified positive reports
Where the horizon opens up near Yukon
The display sits low on the northern horizon, so what beats a better forecast is open ground facing that way. Height gets you above the town glow; water gives you an unbroken skyline. These are within a short drive of Yukon.
- Haeckel Hill — hill13.6 km west-north-west
- Mount Sumanik — mountain15.3 km west-north-west
- Cap Mountain — mountain18.1 km east-north-east
- Scout Lake — lake21.5 km west-north-west
- Cub Lake — lake22.4 km west-north-west
- Boundary Ranges — ridge24.3 km west-north-west
Places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where to stay
Anywhere on the outskirts of Yukon will do; what matters is being able to step outside and check the sky without a drive first.
- Bw Gold Rush Inn 0.3 km from the centre
- Best Western Gold Rush Inn 0.4 km from the centre
- Edgewater Hotel 0.5 km from the centre
- Westmark - Whitehorse, a Holland America Line Company 0.6 km from the centre
- Canadas Best Value Inn 0.6 km from the centre
- Canadas Best Value Inn - River View Hotel 0.6 km from the centre
Places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0) — confirm before booking
The last nights it was visible here
Nights in the last decade when the storm was strong enough for Yukon and the sky was dark enough to show it.
| Date | Peak |
|---|---|
| 2026-03-30 | Kp 3.0 |
| 2026-03-29 | Kp 3.33 |
| 2026-03-28 | Kp 3.67 |
| 2026-03-27 | Kp 3.33 |
| 2026-03-26 | Kp 3.0 |
NOAA planetary Kp
Aurora forecasts across Yukon
All 1 places in Yukon with a forecast page, and the Kp each one needs.
- WhitehorseKp 3
Know when it is worth going outside
Revon watches the Yukon forecast and pushes an alert when the odds for tonight clear your threshold — no checking, no guessing.
Common questions about the aurora borealis in Yukon
Can you see the aurora borealis from Yukon?
Yes. On the last 10.0 years of NOAA Kp records, Yukon had about 121.7 nights a year when the storm was strong enough and the sky dark enough at the same time.
What Kp index do you need to see the aurora borealis in Yukon?
Kp 3. Yukon sits at geomagnetic latitude 63.8°, and the auroral oval only reaches that far from the pole once activity hits Kp 3.
When is the best time of year to see the aurora borealis in Yukon?
March, September and October. Those months scored highest once both conditions are counted together: geomagnetic activity and enough hours of real darkness. From May to August the sky over Yukon never gets fully dark, so nothing is visible however strong the storm.
Where can you escape the light pollution near Yukon?
The centre of Yukon reads Bortle 3. The nearest sky at Bortle 3 is about 5 km north-east around Whitehorse. On a marginal night that drive matters more than the forecast does.
Where is the nearest place to Yukon with reliable aurora borealis?
Whitehorse, Canada — 0 km north. It needs only Kp 3 and averages 171.4 viable nights a year against 121.7 in Yukon.
Nearby towns
Forecasts for places within reach of Yukon.