6.7 usable nights
5–9 in the middle half of years · 1.9 typically near a dark moon.
341 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
20-year trip-planning baseline
Best time to stargaze at Fort Walton Beach
October: 15.9 usable nights on average. Use this seasonal climate baseline to choose a month, then use the live forecast to choose a night.
Site darkness · modelled, not measured
Bright skyBortle classes describe observed sky conditions; this brightness model does not establish a measured Bortle class.19.5–20.2 mag/arcsec²
The short answer
October has been strongest.
It averages 15.9 usable nights, versus 5.1 in July. A typical October lands between 12 and 20 usable nights.
Record2005–2024 · 20 complete years
Usable nightAt least 3 astronomical-dark hours and NASA POWER nighttime cloud ≤30%
Dark-moon nightUsable night with ≤25% illumination at local solar midnight
ResolutionCERES SYN1deg 1° cloud grid; regional climate, not a campsite guarantee
Seasonal fingerprint
Usable nights by month
Month by month
6.2 usable nights
3–8 in the middle half of years · 1.9 typically near a dark moon.
283 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
9.6 usable nights
7–13 in the middle half of years · 3.4 typically near a dark moon.
295 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
10.3 usable nights
9–13 in the middle half of years · 3.4 typically near a dark moon.
240 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
12.4 usable nights
10–14 in the middle half of years · 3.8 typically near a dark moon.
234 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
8.8 usable nights
7–11 in the middle half of years · 3.1 typically near a dark moon.
180 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
5.1 usable nights
2–7 in the middle half of years · 2.0 typically near a dark moon.
214 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
6.0 usable nights
4–9 in the middle half of years · 1.8 typically near a dark moon.
248 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
10.8 usable nights
8–12 in the middle half of years · 3.8 typically near a dark moon.
264 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
15.9 usable nights
12–20 in the middle half of years · 5.3 typically near a dark moon.
310 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
11.5 usable nights
8–16 in the middle half of years · 4.1 typically near a dark moon.
322 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
6.3 usable nights
4–7 in the middle half of years · 2.2 typically near a dark moon.
335 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
Use the baseline honestly
Climate chooses the month. Forecasts choose the night.
The cloud product is a roughly 1° regional grid. It can reveal seasonality, but it cannot know a mountain ridge, valley fog pocket, locked gate, smoke event or the exact sky you will get.
Source: NASA POWER daily data, parameter CLOUD_AMT_NIGHT from the CERES SYN1deg cloud product. GoodSeeing calculates astronomical darkness and lunar illumination independently for each place.