Why You Should Always Go on Your Northern Lights Tour
Seeing the Northern Lights is a truly natural experience, and whether you see them on a particular night depends mainly on two things: the weather and the aurora activity.
We always stick to our tours and have seen often beautiful Aurora on nights that predicted low chances. There is nothing worse then meeting your fellow Aurora enthusiasts the next morning at breakfast and they show you brilliant images of their last-night Aurora outing that you missed. The AuroraCentre is located in one of the driest areas of the Yukon, which means we typically experience fewer clouds during our aurora viewing tours than in other areas.
1. Weather conditions can change from place to place
Even if the sky is cloudy at your hotel, conditions may be completely different just a short drive away. Our Aurora tours travel roughly 40 km of the hotel to Yukon’s largest viewing site, the AuroraCentre. Weather forecasts are helpful, but clouds, snow, wind, and visibility can change quickly, and conditions can vary significantly between downtown Whitehorse and the AuroraCentre.
2. Aurora activity cannot be predicted with 100% certainty
The Northern Lights are caused by activity from the Sun, which interacts with Earth's magnetic field. Although scientists can monitor and forecast aurora activity, it is not possible to predict exactly when, where, or how strongly the lights will appear far in advance. Even when the forecast looks promising, the aurora may be weaker than expected—or may suddenly become much stronger.
Why you should still go on your booked tour
Because both the weather and aurora activity can change throughout the evening, a forecast from earlier in the day cannot guarantee what the sky will look like later.
For this reason, we strongly recommend sticking to your original plans and going on the Aurora viewing tour you booked.
There is never a 100% guarantee of seeing the Northern Lights—that is part of the magic and unpredictability of nature—but going on the tour gives you the best possible chance on that particular night.
Seeing the Northern Lights is a truly natural experience, and whether you see them on a particular night depends mainly on two things: the weather and the aurora activity.
We always stick to our tours and have seen often beautiful Aurora on nights that predicted low chances. There is nothing worse then meeting your fellow Aurora enthusiasts the next morning at breakfast and they show you brilliant images of their last-night Aurora outing that you missed. The AuroraCentre is located in one of the driest areas of the Yukon, which means we typically experience fewer clouds during our aurora viewing tours than in other areas.
1. Weather conditions can change from place to place
Even if the sky is cloudy at your hotel, conditions may be completely different just a short drive away. Our Aurora tours travel roughly 40 km of the hotel to Yukon’s largest viewing site, the AuroraCentre. Weather forecasts are helpful, but clouds, snow, wind, and visibility can change quickly, and conditions can vary significantly between downtown Whitehorse and the AuroraCentre.
2. Aurora activity cannot be predicted with 100% certainty
The Northern Lights are caused by activity from the Sun, which interacts with Earth's magnetic field. Although scientists can monitor and forecast aurora activity, it is not possible to predict exactly when, where, or how strongly the lights will appear far in advance. Even when the forecast looks promising, the aurora may be weaker than expected—or may suddenly become much stronger.
Because both the weather and aurora activity can change throughout the evening, a forecast from earlier in the day cannot guarantee what the sky will look like later.
For this reason, we strongly recommend sticking to your original plans and going on the Aurora viewing tour you booked.
There is never a 100% guarantee of seeing the Northern Lights—that is part of the magic and unpredictability of nature—but going on the tour gives you the best possible chance on that particular night.
