Northern Lights in Fairbanks in January

Darkness in January

Fairbanks starts January just past the solstice, with under 4 hours of daylight on January 1.

It then gains daylight fast, almost three hours over the month, to about 6 hours 40 minutes by January 31, so late January is noticeably lighter than the first week. For aurora viewing that makes no practical difference. There is far more darkness than any visitor can stay awake through, and full dark comfortably brackets magnetic midnight, near 1am, with hours to spare.

As in December, darkness is not the limit. The cold and the cloud are.

Weather and Cloud

This is the part that surprises people. Weather Spark puts the sky overcast or mostly cloudy about 61% of the time in January, slightly better than about 63% in September and October, 62% in November and 64% in December.

So January is not the cloudy low point of the season, but it has no real advantage either. March is the meaningful comparison, at about 55% on the same measure.

The sky is average for the season, neither the problem people expect nor a reason to choose the month. The temperature is what sets January apart.

Temperature: The Defining Factor

January averages a high of about 1°F (−17°C) and a low of about −17°F (−27°C), and Fairbanks has recorded far worse: the city’s record low, −66°F (−54°C), was set on January 14, 1934.

At those temperatures, standing still outside becomes a technical problem, not a question of toughness. This is the month when advice about clothing stops being general guidance and becomes the most important part of your packing.

In practice:

Ordinary winter clothing, a ski jacket, jeans and everyday boots, gives you perhaps twenty minutes. Proper insulated gear made for standing still gives you two to three hours. Aurora viewing is mostly waiting, and substorms arrive without warning, so that difference turns directly into whether you see anything.

Some operators supply parkas, insulated boots and bibs, and others charge for them or leave it to you. Confirm with your operator in writing. If you are not covered, Fairbanks outfitters such as Alaska Outdoor Gear Rental hire out packages built for this, by the day or for several days, and in January that rental is part of the cost of the trip working.

Smaller problems that become serious at January temperatures: glasses fog and then ice over, camera batteries can die within minutes unless kept warm inside your jacket, phone screens stop responding, and exposed skin is at real risk of frostbite in a cold snap.

What Makes January Distinctive

Temperature inversions: the hills can be warmer than town

This is the most useful thing to know about January in Fairbanks, and few visitor guides mention it.

Fairbanks sits in the Tanana Valley. On calm, very cold days, dense cold air pools on the valley floor while warmer air sits above it. This is a temperature inversion, and Fairbanks has some of the strongest in the world: the University of Alaska’s Geophysical Institute has measured temperatures rising by as much as 16°F for every 100 feet of height near the ground. It describes one drive where the thermometer read 44°F at Cleary Summit and −2°F at Chatanika Lodge, about 1,500 feet lower.

For aurora viewing that can be a double advantage. The high viewpoints you want for a dark sky anyway, such as Cleary Summit at about 2,230 feet (680 m), around 20 miles north of town, can be both darker and warmer than the valley floor. On a cold, still night, the drive out can improve your comfort as well as your view.

Ice fog

The valley’s other cold-weather effect. In a deep cold snap, water vapor from car exhausts, chimneys and power plants freezes into tiny suspended ice crystals that hang over town as ice fog, a dense, low haze that can make aurora viewing from inside Fairbanks close to impossible. The Geophysical Institute notes that in dirty air it can start forming at around −4°F (−20°C).

The escape is the same as for the inversion: get out of town and up. Ice fog is made in the valley, where the traffic and chimneys are, and the ridges above it are often clear.

Together, these two effects make January the month when leaving town matters most. In September you can get away with watching near the city. In January, the drive out is doing real work.

→ Best places to see the aurora near Fairbanks

It is quiet

After New Year, January sits outside the holiday period and before the February and March peak of the season. There are no published monthly visitor figures, but in practice that usually means easier bookings and quieter viewing sites.

What You Will Miss

The ice art. The World Ice Art Championships run from mid-February into late March. January falls just short.

Any comfort. September and March allow far longer, more pleasant sessions outside.

Clearer skies. March’s cloud figures are better.

The equinox bump. The Russell-McPherron effect lifts geomagnetic activity near the March and September equinoxes, and January sits between them. The effect is modest, and it matters less in Fairbanks because the city already sits under the auroral oval.

Margin for error. In most months, under-packing is uncomfortable. In January it costs you sightings.

Who Should Choose January

Choose January if: you are properly equipped or happy to rent gear; you want the deepest winter Fairbanks offers; you want quiet viewing sites and easier bookings; or your dates are fixed and you are prepared to do it properly.

Choose another month if: you do not want to invest in serious clothing; you want the ice art (February or March); you want the best odds (March); you are traveling with young children; or comfort matters to you at all (September).

Compared With the Months Either Side

Versus December: very close. December has the solstice and the holidays; January is colder, a little less cloudy, and gains daylight quickly. Neither has a decisive advantage in odds, so choose on atmosphere and timing.

Versus February: February is the better month on most counts. The skies start to clear, the ice art opens in mid-February, and temperatures ease from January’s low while the nights stay long. If your dates can slide a few weeks later, they probably should.

Versus March: March is stronger on nearly everything that affects your odds: the clearest skies of the season, the equinox effect, far milder temperatures, the ice art and plenty of darkness. January’s arguments are quiet viewing and availability.

→ Full month-by-month comparison

Practical Notes for January

Rent gear if you do not own it. This is the month when that decision settles the outcome.

Get out of the valley. Inversions and ice fog both favor high ground, and the hills can be warmer as well as clearer.

Book four or five nights. Cloud is average, not good, and extra nights are still the most effective hedge.

Keep batteries warm. Camera and phone batteries die fast; carry spares inside your jacket.

Do not schedule early mornings. With viewing running to 3am and little daylight, start daytime activities late.

Chena Hot Springs is at its best in deep cold. The contrast between 106°F (41°C) water and January air is the whole point, and the frozen-hair photo belongs to this month. The pool house closes before midnight.

Our pick on GetYourGuide: the Aurora Glass House Experience at Cleary Summit, rated 4.5/5 from 43 reviews, takes you up to the summit above the valley’s cold air and ice fog and lets you watch from a heated 270° glass room, so the cold limits nothing. If you would rather be outside and chase the clearest sky, the Northern Lights Tour with Free Photos from Arctic Night Tours (4.8/5 from more than 250 reviews) picks you up at your hotel and follows the forecast.

→ Chena Hot Springs from Fairbanks

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you see the northern lights in Fairbanks in January?

Yes. Darkness is abundant and Fairbanks sits under the auroral oval, so displays happen at ordinary levels of geomagnetic activity. The cold and the cloud are the limits.

Is January a good month for the northern lights?

It is a good month with one condition: proper clothing. Well-equipped visitors do very well and unequipped ones struggle. Cloud is about average for the season, and there are no big events.

How cold is Fairbanks in January?

It is the coldest month, with an average high of about 1°F (−17°C) and an average low of about −17°F (−27°C). The city’s record low, −66°F (−54°C), was set in January 1934.

Is January the cloudiest month?

No. The sky is overcast or mostly cloudy about 61% of the time in January, slightly better than September through December. March is clearer, at about 55%.

What is ice fog?

A dense, low haze of tiny ice crystals that forms over Fairbanks in deep cold snaps, mostly from the water vapor in car exhausts and chimney smoke. It can make aurora viewing from inside the city impossible. Driving out of town to higher ground is the usual escape.

Is it warmer in the hills than in Fairbanks?

Often, on calm, very cold days. Cold air pools in the Tanana Valley, so high sites outside the city such as Cleary Summit can be much warmer than downtown, as well as darker and above the ice fog.

Do I need to rent cold-weather gear in January?

Unless you already own heavy cold-weather clothing made for standing still, yes. The difference between adequate and inadequate gear is roughly twenty minutes outside against three hours, which can be the difference between seeing a display and missing it.

Is January better than February?

Usually not. February brings clearer skies, milder temperatures and the start of the ice art, with the nights still long. If your dates are flexible, later is better.

Next Steps

For the full seasonal picture: best time to see the northern lights in Fairbanks. Neighboring month: December. For where to go once you are there: best places to see the northern lights near Fairbanks.

Browse Fairbanks northern lights tours →