12.7 usable nights
10–15 in the middle half of years · 4.5 typically near a dark moon.
341 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
20-year trip-planning baseline
When to plan an observing trip to Lake Havasu City
October: 22.6 usable nights on average. A regional planning baseline, not a forecast for your trip.
Site darkness · modelled, not measured
Brightened skyBortle classes describe observed sky conditions; this brightness model does not establish a measured Bortle class.20.1–20.7 mag/arcsec²
The short answer
October has been strongest.
It averages 22.6 usable nights, versus 12.4 in July. A typical October lands between 19 and 27 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
12.9 usable nights
9–17 in the middle half of years · 3.8 typically near a dark moon.
287 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
13.9 usable nights
11–17 in the middle half of years · 4.2 typically near a dark moon.
287 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
18.6 usable nights
16–20 in the middle half of years · 6.1 typically near a dark moon.
240 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
21.6 usable nights
18–25 in the middle half of years · 7.2 typically near a dark moon.
203 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
22.0 usable nights
20–25 in the middle half of years · 7.2 typically near a dark moon.
180 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
12.4 usable nights
9–16 in the middle half of years · 4.5 typically near a dark moon.
190 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
13.7 usable nights
11–16 in the middle half of years · 4.0 typically near a dark moon.
241 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
21.9 usable nights
19–23 in the middle half of years · 8.3 typically near a dark moon.
256 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
22.6 usable nights
19–27 in the middle half of years · 7.9 typically near a dark moon.
310 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
17.1 usable nights
15–20 in the middle half of years · 6.0 typically near a dark moon.
327 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
12.7 usable nights
9–16 in the middle half of years · 4.3 typically near a dark moon.
356 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.