Going on a trip to see the Northern Lights is a dream for many people. The aurora season in the countries concerned: Iceland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Russia, Finland, USA, Alaska, Greenland, starts at the end of September and ends at the end of March. In the heart of winter, between 11pm and 1am is the best time to observe the aurora.
Live Northern light forecast map
the kp index is now 0 (12H UTC)To predict the best nights www.auroreboreale.net proposes to forecast the aurora and to follow the KP index. This gives you an idea of whether the next night will be active or weak. On the map, some cities are marked in blue, these are the cities identified in our articles, elsewhere they are gps points, you can zoom in and out to know the percentage of probability to see an aurora borealis at this place (send us your remarks and suggestions to improve this system by sending us a message in the form on the right of the site).
Other system to forecast aurora borealis
Staying away from cities to avoid light pollution is a plus. Clear, cold nights are best for observing the northern lights.
However, if the season is known, not all nights are the same and solar storms vary constantly. To predict the best nights, there are applications to forecast the aurora and some sites offer a forecast and monitoring of northern activity by region of the globe. This allows you to know if the next night will be active or weak. Weather forecasting also plays an important role in aurora viewing.
Northern lights forecasting systems by Nordic country. Predicting the appearance of the aurora borealis.
The forecasting system tracks aurora activity in North America, Alaska, Europe, the North Pole and the South Pole. The forecast covers 27 days.
Northern light forecast USA Alaska
See our live northern light forecast on this page for alaska
See the University of Fairbanks forecast https://www.gi.alaska.edu/monitors/aurora-forecast
The US government’s Space Weather Forecast Center also offers a slightly less intuitive and more expert forecasting system, but one that provides high quality information.
The Alaska Northern Lights Forecast and Weather Forecast provides information on when to plan a night out to see the aurora. Not every night is the same for exploring the wilderness to see Alaska’s northern lights, so these aurora forecasts help you make the most of these phenomena.
Aurora borealis forecast Norway
Norway is one of the top destinations in Europe for viewing the aurora. Whether it is in the main cities of Norway or in the specific aurora spots, forecasting the appearance of the aurora is necessary to plan your outings and ideal times. The best forecasting site for the Northern Lights in Norway is the Norwegian Space Weather Centre (NOSWE).
Northern Lights forecast in Tromso
Tromso, Norway is renowned for being one of the best spots in the world to see the aurora, so the weather and KP index in Tromso are closely scrutinised by all aurora travellers.
Northern lights forecast in Tromso, Oslo, Svalbard and many other places.
In 2022, January, February, March and September, October, November and December, the aurora will be present as is often the case during these periods when the light in the sky can be observed.
For the auroral forecast www.auroralabsnorway.com offers weather and auroral forecasts
Aurora Borealis forecast Finland – Lapland
The Finnish weather service offers information on solar storms and aurora weather and forecast.
The service includes auroral monitoring with all-sky cameras and magnetic field alarm systems for northern and southern Finland separately. The magnetic alarms are based on data from magnetometers measuring the level of disturbance of the Earth’s magnetic field at the Nurmijärvi and Sodankylä geophysical observatories.
http://aurorasnow.fmi.fi/public_service/
During solar maximum, there is more activity, which increases the possibility of more frequent geomagnetic storms and strong auroras at lower latitudes.
Aurora forecasting is a real science, but it can be summarised by understanding a few concepts, such as the KP index and the Aurora prediction maps.
Use the KP as a rough idea for an aurora forecast. Make sure you try to see the lights when there is a promising Aurora prediction and not just an estimate of when you will see them.
Northern Lights Forecast Iceland
Iceland also offers an aurora forecast service, which offers these services:
Reykjavik aurora forecast and aurora forecast for all other parts of Iceland.
The phase of the moon. This is also interesting because the full moon can make the faint aurora less visible. However, we were also able to see the Northern Lights with a full moon.
Real-time cloud cover. This is the most essential tool for hunting the aurora across the island.
https://en.vedur.is/weather/forecasts/cloudcover/
Beyond forecasting the aurora in Iceland, weather forecasting is essential. An aurora behind clouds is still clouds!
Aurora forecast Russia – Northern lights Russia
Auroras in Russia in the northernmost areas are very frequent and if Russia is less touristic than Norway it presents regions very adapted to the observation. The Murmansk region is one of the most famous in Russia for auroras, the Murmansk tourist office website offers its forecast (nothern lights forecast): https://visitmurmansk.info/en/aurora-forecast/
Aurora weather forecast – aurora weather forecast by country
Don’t forget to check the cloud forecast. Even if the sun is melting, you will not see the Northern Lights if the sky is overcast. The weather forecast is as important as the auroral activity. The weather plays a major role in making a good aurora night!!! The forecast with a high KP index can be completely ruined by low cloudy, snowy skies… so couple the weather forecast with the auroral forecast.
KP-index aurora forecast and aurora probability
The Kp index (Kp index or Planetary K-index) is often used to determine the probability of seeing the aurora. It is also one of the most commonly used indices to indicate the severity of global magnetic disturbances in near-Earth space. The Kp index is a weighted average of several K indices from a network of geomagnetic observatories. It was introduced by Julius Bartels in 1939 and is derived from the German word Kennziffer
the kp index is now 0 (12H UTC)Kp 0 – Calm – Oval aurora mainly in the north of Iceland. Faint auroras visible in photographs, low in the northern sky
Kp 1 – Calm – Oval aurora over Iceland, faint and silent auroras visible to the naked eye low in the northern sky
Kp 2 – Quiet – The aurora is easily visible and becomes brighter and more dynamic
Kp 3 – Disinstalled – Bright auroras visible at zenith. Pale green colour more evident
Kp 4 – Active – Bright, constant and dynamic auroras visible. More colours start to appear
Kp 5 – Minor Storm – Bright, constant and colourful aurora display, red and purple colours appear. Aurora likely
Kp 6 – Moderate storm – Bright, dynamic and colourful aurora displays. Probable coronal aurora. Memorable to those who witness it
Kp 7 – Strong storm – Bright, dynamic and colourful aurora. Visible in the southern sky. Aurora very likely.
Kp 8 – Severe storm – Bright, dynamic and colourful aurora. Aurora seen around 50° latitude
Kp 9 – Intense storm – Aurora seen around 40° latitude. Auroras and red crowns very likely. Most often caused by powerful coronal mass ejections.
KP index Tromso – KP index Norway – KP index Sweden – KP index Lofoten – KP index Finland
Northern lights and weather forecast application
What is the best iphone application to forecast the Northern Lights? There are many sites and applications to monitor aurora activity and find out if there is a high or low probability of seeing an aurora borealis “app aurora forecast”. Just visit the iPhone app store and search for ‘aurora boreale’ to find aurora forecast applications by country.
Winter 2022/2023 : where to see the aurora borealis? Forecast 2023
The end of the year 2021 was marked by important aurora borealis episodes. Winter 2022 and the aurora forecast remains “normal”, meaning that it is a normal season and that you should follow the forecast directly on the forecast applications on each country, or the global app on your iphone.
You can see Northern lights forecast on https://www.northernlights-forecast.com the web site about aurora borealis forecast
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