is the aurora visible?

Northern lights in Fairbanks in March

One of the best months of the year — 45% of March nights offer a real window.

45%of nights offer a window
9 hof darkness per night
85%of days with enough solar activity
54%of nights with a clear hour

The numbers behind it: March nights in Fairbanks average about 9 dark hours, geomagnetic activity reaches local viewing levels on 85% of days, and 54% of nights offer at least one reasonably clear hour after dark.

Neither clouds nor solar activity dominates — March failures are usually bad single-night luck. Several nights in a row is the honest insurance policy.

March also benefits from the equinox effect: around the equinoxes the Earth's magnetic field couples more efficiently with the solar wind (the Russell-McPherron effect), and 30 years of records show measurably more active days than in midwinter.

Numbers come from 1996–2025 Kp records (GFZ Potsdam) and 2015–2024 hourly cloud history for Fairbanks itself — the full method is on the methodology page. Travelling soon? Check tonight's live Fairbanks forecast.

March against the rest of the year

  1. Jan53% of nights
  2. Feb50% of nights
  3. Mar45% of nights
  4. Apr42% of nights
  5. Maymidnight sun
  6. Junmidnight sun
  7. Julmidnight sun
  8. Aug13% of nights
  9. Sep36% of nights
  10. Oct39% of nights
  11. Nov35% of nights
  12. Dec37% of nights

February in Fairbanks · April in Fairbanks · full year overview

March elsewhere under the oval