Lääne-Viru County, EstoniaMagnetic latitude 56.0°Population 2,155121 m above sea level
Northern lights in Väike-Maarja
Väike-Maarja needs an active night: from about Kp 3.3 the aurora appears low over the north horizon, and it rises higher as activity grows. Since 1995 storms of Kp 4.7 or more reached this place during darkness on 914 nights.
Right now
Quiet right now (Kp 1.0).
Magnetometer at Tartu (97 km away): low magnetic activity.
Updates every minute while this page is open. Ground data: FMI MIRACLE R-index (CC BY 4.0).
Tonight in one minute
Maybe — worth a look
- Solar activity Strong enough: Kp 4.7 expected, 3.3 needed here.
- Sky Partly cloudy (44% cloud) — look for gaps.
- Darkness Dark from 19:23 to 06:37. A bright moon (70%) washes out faint displays.
What to do: Go somewhere dark around 00:00, give your eyes 15 minutes to adjust and look north, low over the horizon.
Wednesday 21 October — Good chance · Kp 4.7 · best around 01:30 · Forecast cloud: 44%. · Reliability: good
Each box is one night: the colour shows the chance, the number the expected Kp. Tap a night for details.
📅 Add these nights to your calendar — it updates itself (.ics)
How far ahead can the northern lights be forecast?
- Minutes to an hour: satellites 1.5 million km away measure the solar wind before it reaches Earth. This is the surest warning — the “Right now” box uses it.
- 1–3 days: when the Sun throws out a cloud of particles, it takes one to three days to arrive. NOAA's 3-hourly forecast covers these nights; the timing can still be off by a few hours.
- 4–27 days: the Sun turns once every 27 days, and regions that disturbed Earth's field last time often do it again. NOAA's 27-day outlook gives this rough trend — new eruptions are not in it yet.
Tonight
Updated 22:36 local time
Excellent chance
Best around 00:00. Forecast max Kp 4.7 (this place needs 3.3), average cloud 44%.
- Dark enough
- 19:23 – 06:37
- Sunset
- 17:54 · sunrise 08:06
- Moon
- 70% · ↑ 16:39 · ↓ 01:14
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 3.3
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 1.7 (a red glow low in the north).
- Look towards
- north (0°)
Cloud layers and weather
Low cloud blocks the aurora completely. Thin high cloud often still lets a bright aurora shine through, so a sky with only high cloud is worth a look.
| Time | Tue, 22 | Wed, 01 | Wed, 04 | Wed, 19 | Wed, 22 | Thu, 01 | Thu, 04 | Thu, 19 | Thu, 22 | Fri, 01 | Fri, 04 | Fri, 19 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 1% | 1% | 4% | 8% | 65% |
| Mid cloud | 1% | 6% | 8% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 77% | 100% | 88% | 69% | 48% |
| High cloud | 3% | 16% | 26% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 70% | 100% | 100% | 88% | 38% |
| Temperature | 3 °C | 3 °C | 4 °C | 8 °C | 7 °C | 6 °C | 6 °C | 10 °C | 8 °C | 8 °C | 8 °C | 10 °C |
| Feels like | 1 °C | 1 °C | 1 °C | 7 °C | 5 °C | 4 °C | 4 °C | 8 °C | 6 °C | 6 °C | 5 °C | 8 °C |
| Wind | 3 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 4 m/s | 4 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 4 m/s |
Cloud layers and weather: Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0).
Score = activity (NOAA Kp and OVATION) × clear sky (MET Norway) × darkness × moonlight. Methodology
Weather in Väike-Maarja
The aurora only shows through clear skies, so the weather matters as much as the Kp index. Here is the general forecast for Väike-Maarja: temperature, wind and the chance of rain for the coming days.
Planning further ahead? See the hour-by-hour weather forecast for Väike-Maarja on Atlas of Seasons.
Seeing it right now?
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Live webcams near Väike-Maarja
Check the sky for yourself: public cameras within 300 km. They open on the camera owner's website.
These cameras belong to their owners — we only link to them. Most show little in daylight or under cloud, and some pause in summer.
Do you host guests in Väike-Maarja? Give them a free aurora forecast page and a QR poster for your property. Create a guest page →
What you would see from Väike-Maarja
Facing north. Bands show where the aurora sits at two activity levels.
| Kp | What you see | Lower edge | Ray tops | Distance to the aurora |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 5° | 12° | 723 km |
| 3 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 10° | 19° | 500 km |
| 4 | Visible to the north | 19° | 34° | 278 km |
| 5 | Visible to the north | 62° | 74° | 56 km |
| 6 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 7 | Overhead, and also to the south | – | – | – |
| 8 | Overhead, and also to the south | – | – | – |
| 9 | Overhead, and also to the south | – | – | – |
The Kp scale in plain words
Kp is a 0–9 score for how strongly the Earth's magnetic field is being shaken by the solar wind. The higher it goes, the further from the poles the northern lights reach. Kp 0–2 is a quiet night; Kp 5 and above is a geomagnetic storm.
- Kp 0–2 Quiet camera in Väike-Maarja Only under the auroral oval: northern Norway, Swedish and Finnish Lapland, Iceland, Alaska, northern Canada.
- Kp 3 Unsettled eye in Väike-Maarja Bright in the Arctic; low on the horizon in central Scandinavia and southern Iceland.
- Kp 4 Active Overhead in the Arctic; low in the north from southern Norway, Sweden, Finland and northern Scotland.
- Kp 5 Minor storm (G1) next 24 h Scotland, southern Scandinavia, the Baltic states, the northern US states and southern Canada.
- Kp 6 Moderate storm (G2) Northern England, Denmark, northern Germany and Poland, the US Midwest — often clearer in photos than to the eye.
- Kp 7 Strong storm (G3) Most of the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Czechia; red glow in photos from France and the northern Alps.
- Kp 8 Severe storm (G4) Central Europe to the eye; red sky in photos from northern Italy, Spain, the Balkans and Turkey's Black Sea coast.
- Kp 9 Extreme storm (G5) Seen across Europe and the US; in photos as far south as the Mediterranean, Turkey and North Africa (May 2024).
Light pollution
Dark rural sky. Little artificial light. Faint displays are visible once your eyes have adapted.
A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the south-east. Open in OpenStreetMap
Estimate from NASA VIIRS night-light data (sky-glow model within 50 km). Check access and private land before you go.
Hills and mountains
The horizon towards the north is open (terrain below 0.2°), so low aurora is not blocked.
From elevation data (AWS Terrain Tiles) along seven lines of sight up to 30 km.
Best months to see the aurora in Väike-Maarja
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
March has been the best month (10% of nights), followed by September (9%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 9% | 42% | 7.9 h | 9° / 17°C |
| October | 5% | 25% | 10.8 h | 3° / 9°C |
| November | 2% | 10% | 12.8 h | -1° / 3°C |
| December | 2% | 8% | 14.0 h | -6° / -2°C |
| January | 2% | 9% | 13.3 h | -9° / -4°C |
| February | 4% | 18% | 11.5 h | -10° / -4°C |
| March | 10% | 41% | 9.1 h | -6° / 1°C |
| April | 8% | 57% | 5.8 h | 0° / 8°C |
Darkness through the year
- No full darkness (Sun 12° below the horizon) from 14 May to 29 July — the sky stays too bright for most auroras.
- Next new moon 9 November, next full moon 26 October. The darkest skies are in the week around new moon.
Aurora nights in Väike-Maarja since 1995
Nights when Kp reached 4.7 or more while it was dark here.
Most recent strong nights
- 10 October 2026 · Kp 7.3
- 4 October 2026 · Kp 5.7
- 18 August 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 15 May 2026 · Kp 6.0
- 20 April 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 3 April 2026 · Kp 5.7
- 2 April 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 22 March 2026 · Kp 6.7
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport (TLL) · 87 km
- Typical low / high in March
- -6° / 1°C
- What to wear
- Below freezing at night: thermal layers, a warm jacket, hat, gloves and winter boots. Full clothing guide
- Emergency number
- 112
- Winter driving
- Winter tyres are mandatory 1 Dec – 1 Mar; studded tyres allowed 15 Oct – 31 Mar (to 30 Apr if winter conditions persist), and since Dec 2022 non-studded winter tyres must be Nordic-type. Road conditions: Transpordiamet's Tark Tee portal (https://www.tarktee.ee). Road conditions
- Access to land
- Estonia's everyman's right (igaüheõigus, codified in the Environmental Code) lets you be on unfenced, unposted land day and night regardless of ownership; fenced or signposted private land requires the owner's permission. RMK (State Forest Management Centre) sites are open to the public.
- Weather service
- Estonian Weather Service (Riigi Ilmateenistus)
Questions and answers
What Kp do you need to see the aurora in Väike-Maarja?
Väike-Maarja needs an active night: from about Kp 3.3 the aurora appears low over the north horizon, and it rises higher as activity grows.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Väike-Maarja?
Face north (about 0° from true north). At Kp 3.3 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 19° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
What is the best month to see the aurora in Väike-Maarja?
Over 2005–2025, March gave the best odds in Väike-Maarja (10% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by September (9%).
When is the aurora season in Väike-Maarja?
From 14 May to 29 July the sky in Väike-Maarja never gets dark enough. Outside that period the aurora can be seen whenever activity and clouds allow.
Is there much light pollution in Väike-Maarja?
Little artificial light. Faint displays are visible once your eyes have adapted. A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the south-east.
When was the aurora last possible in Väike-Maarja?
Activity last reached storm level (Kp 5 or more) during darkness in Väike-Maarja on 10 October 2026 (Kp 7.3) — 914 such nights since 1995. Here the aurora also appears on many quieter nights.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Väike-Maarja share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Väike-Maarja alevik 0 km
- Kaarma 1 km
- Ebavere 1 km
- Kruusiaugu 1 km
- Ebavere küla 1 km
- Ärina 2 km
- Müüriku 2 km
- Mõisamaa 2 km
- Kaarma-Tagaküla 2 km
- Müüriku küla 2 km
- Sandimetsa 3 km
- Koonu 3 km
- Äntu-Tagaküla 3 km
- Sandimetsa küla 3 km
- Ärina küla 3 km
- Vao 4 km
- Eipri-Tagaküla 4 km
- Äntu-Karjamaa 4 km
- Vigala 4 km
- Rastla küla 4 km
- Koonu küla 4 km
- Vao küla 4 km
- Triigi 5 km
- Pandivere 5 km
- Eipri 5 km
- Rastla 5 km
- Äntu 5 km
- Pandivere küla 5 km
- Triigi küla 5 km
- Raeküla 6 km
- Kiltsi 6 km
- Karutiigi 6 km
- Avispea 6 km
- Aburi 6 km
- Liivaküla 6 km
- Kännuküla 6 km
- Liineküla 6 km
- Uguri 6 km
- Kiltsi alevik 6 km
- Liivaküla 6 km