Valga County, EstoniaMagnetic latitude 54.9°Population 2,167150 m above sea level
Northern lights in Otepää
Otepää needs an active night: from about Kp 3.7 the aurora appears low over the north horizon, and it rises higher as activity grows. Since 1995 that level (Kp 4.7) was reached during darkness here on 939 nights.
Right now
Activity is high enough for a camera right now: point your phone north, low over the horizon.
Updates every minute while this page is open.
Tonight in one minute
Not tonight
- Solar activity Enough for a camera: Kp 2.7 expected, 2 needed for photos, 3.7 for the eye.
- Sky Overcast (76% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 19:32 to 06:27.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
- Detailed forecast Fri 16 2.7 Unlikely · Kp 2.7
- Sat 17 1.7 No · Kp 1.7
- Sun 18 1.7 No · Kp 1.7
- 27-day trend Mon 19 2 Photos only · Kp 2
- Tue 20 3 Photos only · Kp 3
- Wed 21 4 Good chance · Kp 4
- Thu 22 4 Possible · Kp 4
- Fri 23 4 Possible · Kp 4
- Sat 24 3 Unlikely · Kp 3
- Sun 25 2 Unlikely · Kp 2
- Mon 26 2 Unlikely · Kp 2
- Tue 27 2 Photos only · Kp 2
- Wed 28 2 Photos only · Kp 2
- Thu 29 2 Photos only · Kp 2
- Fri 30 5 Good chance · Kp 5
- Sat 31 5 Good chance · Kp 5
- Sun 1 5 Possible · Kp 5
- Mon 2 3 Unlikely · Kp 3
- Tue 3 2 Unlikely · Kp 2
- Wed 4 2 Unlikely · Kp 2
- Thu 5 3 Unlikely · Kp 3
- Fri 6 3 Unlikely · Kp 3
- Sat 7 3 Unlikely · Kp 3
Thursday 22 October — Good chance · Kp 4 · best around 00:00 · Forecast cloud: 43%. · Reliability: low (rough trend)
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 22:17 local time
Unlikely
Best around 22:00. Forecast max Kp 2.7 (this place needs 3.7), average cloud 76%.
- Dark enough
- 19:32 – 06:27
- Sunset
- 18:06 · sunrise 07:53
- Moon
- 33% · ↑ 15:57 · ↓ 19:51
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 3.7
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 2 (a red glow low in the north).
- Look towards
- north (0°)
Score = activity (NOAA Kp and OVATION) × clear sky (MET Norway) × darkness × moonlight. Methodology
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What you would see from Otepää
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 | 3° | 9° | 845 km |
| 3 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 7° | 15° | 623 km |
| 4 | Visible to the north | 13° | 24° | 400 km |
| 5 | Visible to the north | 30° | 47° | 178 km |
| 6 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 7 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 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 Otepää Only under the auroral oval: northern Norway, Swedish and Finnish Lapland, Iceland, Alaska, northern Canada.
- Kp 3 Unsettled next 24 h Bright in the Arctic; low on the horizon in central Scandinavia and southern Iceland.
- Kp 4 Active eye in Otepää Overhead in the Arctic; low in the north from southern Norway, Sweden, Finland and northern Scotland.
- Kp 5 Minor storm (G1) 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
Bright suburban sky. Strong sky glow washes out faint aurora. Head out of town for anything but a bright display.
A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the east-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 0.0°), 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 Otepää
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
September has been the best month (13% of nights), followed by March (10%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 13% | 55% | 8.0 h | 8° / 17°C |
| October | 8% | 39% | 10.8 h | 3° / 9°C |
| November | 3% | 20% | 12.8 h | -1° / 3°C |
| December | 4% | 15% | 13.8 h | -6° / -2°C |
| January | 4% | 19% | 13.3 h | -9° / -4°C |
| February | 5% | 28% | 11.5 h | -10° / -4°C |
| March | 10% | 46% | 9.1 h | -5° / 2°C |
| April | 8% | 55% | 6.0 h | 0° / 9°C |
Darkness through the year
- No full darkness (Sun 12° below the horizon) from 18 May to 25 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 Otepää 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
- 5 June 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 15 May 2026 · Kp 6.0
- 4 May 2026 · Kp 6.0
- 20 April 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 3 April 2026 · Kp 5.7
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Tartu Airport (TAY) · 30 km
- Typical low / high in September
- 8° / 17°C
- What to wear
- Cool nights: layers, a windproof jacket, hat and gloves for standing still outside. 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 Otepää?
Otepää needs an active night: from about Kp 3.7 the aurora appears low over the north horizon, and it rises higher as activity grows.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Otepää?
Face north (about 0° from true north). At Kp 3.7 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 13° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
What is the best month to see the aurora in Otepää?
Over 2005–2025, September gave the best odds in Otepää (13% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by March (10%).
When is the aurora season in Otepää?
From 18 May to 25 July the sky in Otepää never gets dark enough. Outside that period the aurora can be seen whenever activity and clouds allow.
Is there much light pollution in Otepää?
Strong sky glow washes out faint aurora. Head out of town for anything but a bright display. A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the east-south-east.
When was the aurora last possible in Otepää?
Activity last reached storm level (Kp 5 or more) during darkness in Otepää on 10 October 2026 (Kp 7.3) — 939 such nights since 1995. Here the aurora also appears on many quieter nights.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Otepää share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Hundisoo 1 km
- Otepää linn 1 km
- Otepää küla 1 km
- Nüpli 2 km
- Vana-Otepää 3 km
- Pühajärve 3 km
- Pilkuse 3 km
- Mäeküla 3 km
- Pilpaküla 3 km
- Pühajärve küla 3 km
- Kastolatsi küla 3 km
- Nüpli küla 3 km
- Kirikuküla 4 km
- Pedajamäe 4 km
- Kastolatsi 4 km
- Ojamäe 4 km
- Alaküla 4 km
- Vana-Otepää küla 4 km
- Pedajamäe küla 4 km
- Pilkuse küla 4 km
- Otepää vald 5 km
- Raiga 5 km
- Annimatsi 5 km
- Mäha küla 5 km
- Pikajärve 6 km
- Kitse 6 km
- Sihva 6 km
- Mäha 6 km
- Elva 6 km
- Sihva küla 6 km
- Pikajärve küla 6 km
- Mägestiku küla 6 km
- Voki 7 km
- Vastsemõisa 7 km
- Päidla 7 km
- Raudsepa 7 km
- Nõuni 7 km
- Mägestiku 7 km
- Klaverikülä 7 km
- Äidu 7 km