Streymoy, Faroe IslandsMagnetic latitude 60.3°Population 13,2001 m above sea level
Northern lights in Tórshavn
From Tórshavn the aurora is visible on most active nights — first low to the north, from about Kp 1.
Right now
It is still light here. Darkness starts at 19:46.
Updates every minute while this page is open.
Tonight in one minute
Maybe — worth a look
- Solar activity Strong enough: Kp 2.7 expected, 1 needed here.
- Sky Partly cloudy (59% cloud) — look for gaps.
- Darkness Dark from 19:46 to 06:39.
What to do: Go somewhere dark around 00:00, give your eyes 15 minutes to adjust and look north, low over the horizon.
- Detailed forecast Fri 16 2.7 Good chance · Kp 2.7
- Sat 17 1.7 Possible · Kp 1.7
- Sun 18 1.7 Possible · Kp 1.7
- 27-day trend Mon 19 2 Possible · Kp 2
- Tue 20 3 Possible · Kp 3
- Wed 21 4 Possible · Kp 4
- Thu 22 4 Possible · Kp 4
- Fri 23 4 Possible · Kp 4
- Sat 24 3 Possible · Kp 3
- Sun 25 2 Possible · Kp 2
- Mon 26 2 Possible · Kp 2
- Tue 27 2 Possible · Kp 2
- Wed 28 2 Possible · Kp 2
- Thu 29 2 Possible · Kp 2
- Fri 30 5 Possible · Kp 5
- Sat 31 5 Possible · Kp 5
- Sun 1 5 Possible · Kp 5
- Mon 2 3 Possible · Kp 3
- Tue 3 2 Possible · Kp 2
- Wed 4 2 Possible · Kp 2
- Thu 5 3 Possible · Kp 3
- Fri 6 3 Possible · Kp 3
- Sat 7 3 Possible · Kp 3
Friday 16 October — Good chance · Kp 2.7 · best around 23:30 · Forecast cloud: 59%. · 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 14:45 local time
Good chance
Best around 00:00. Forecast max Kp 2.7 (this place needs 1), average cloud 59%.
- Dark enough
- 19:46 – 06:39
- Sunset
- 18:10 · sunrise 08:16
- Moon
- 31% · ↑ 17:22 · ↓ 18:29
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 1
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 0 (a red glow low in the north).
- Look towards
- north (352°)
Clearer skies nearby tonight
Tonight's cloud forecast is similar in every direction within 100 km (59% here), so driving is unlikely to help.
MET Norway forecast at 24 points within 100 km, averaged over the dark hours. Check roads and conditions before driving.
Score = activity (NOAA Kp and OVATION) × clear sky (MET Norway) × darkness × moonlight. Methodology
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What you would see from Tórshavn
Facing north. Bands show where the aurora sits at two activity levels.
| Kp | What you see | Lower edge | Ray tops | Distance to the aurora |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Visible to the north | 10° | 21° | 467 km |
| 2 | Visible to the north | 22° | 38° | 245 km |
| 3 | Visible to the north | 78° | 83° | 22 km |
| 4 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 5 | Overhead, and also to the south | – | – | – |
| 6 | Overhead, and also to the south | – | – | – |
| 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 eye in Tórshavn camera in Tórshavn 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 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
Pristine dark sky. Almost no artificial light: faint aurora and the Milky Way are easy to see.
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 terrain rises to about 5° above the horizon towards the north. That hides low aurora: here you need about Kp 1 instead of Kp 1. A hilltop, shore or open field with a clear view to the north helps.
From elevation data (AWS Terrain Tiles) along seven lines of sight up to 30 km.
Best months to see the aurora in Tórshavn
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
September has been the best month (15% of nights), followed by April (15%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 15% | 18% | 7.6 h | 10° / 11°C |
| October | 13% | 15% | 10.6 h | 8° / 9°C |
| November | 12% | 14% | 13.1 h | 6° / 8°C |
| December | 10% | 11% | 14.1 h | 5° / 7°C |
| January | 9% | 10% | 13.6 h | 4° / 6°C |
| February | 12% | 13% | 11.5 h | 4° / 6°C |
| March | 7% | 9% | 8.8 h | 4° / 6°C |
| April | 15% | 21% | 4.8 h | 5° / 7°C |
Darkness through the year
- No full darkness (Sun 12° below the horizon) from 3 May to 9 August — 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 Tórshavn since 1995
Nights when Kp reached 4.7 or more while it was dark here.
Most recent strong nights
- 10 October 2026 · Kp 7.0
- 4 October 2026 · Kp 5.7
- 3 April 2026 · Kp 5.7
- 22 March 2026 · Kp 6.7
- 20 March 2026 · Kp 7.0
- 13 March 2026 · Kp 6.0
- 3 March 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 22 February 2026 · Kp 5.3
Where to watch near Tórshavn
-
Velbastaður
Cliffside village close to Tórshavn with dark skies and views towards Hestur and Koltur. · about 8 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Sornfelli (Oyggjarvegur)
Mountain plateau reached by road from Tórshavn that can rise above low cloud. · about 20 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Sandoy (Skopun)
Island with flat terrain and wide skies, reached by the sub-sea tunnel from Streymoy. · about 25 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Tjørnuvík
Remote village at the northern tip of Streymoy surrounded by mountains and open sea to the north. · about 50 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
Local knowledge
- Visit Faroe Islands advises leaving Tórshavn's lights; several dark spots are a short drive from the capital.
- The best months are November to February, sometimes March; summer is too light.
- Nights with temperatures near or below 0 °C tend to bring the clear, crisp skies needed.
- Faroese weather changes quickly; be flexible and ready to return to a spot on another night.
- Vágar Airport (FAE) is about 45 minutes' drive from Tórshavn via the sub-sea tunnel.
A military radar station sits at the top of Sornfelli; the public road stops short of it and the facility is off-limits.
Mountain roads such as Oyggjarvegur can be foggy, icy and unlit; sheep often wander onto Faroese roads at night.
Do not trespass onto private outfields; many hikes in the Faroes are on private land and some charge access fees.
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Vágar Airport (FAE) · 27 km
- Typical low / high in September
- 10° / 11°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
- The road authority Landsverk publishes real-time road conditions (in Faroese). Some scenic mountain roads get no winter maintenance, and some are closed in winter. Studded tyres are allowed from 16 October to 15 May (as reported by KvF in 2022). Road conditions
- Access to land
- There is no general right to roam: under Faroese law, walking on infields and outfields needs the landowner's permission. Many landowners now charge fees or allow only guided hikes. Stay on marked paths and close outfield gates, and keep motor vehicles out of the outfield.
- Weather service
- DMI (Danish Meteorological Institute)
Questions and answers
What Kp do you need to see the aurora in Tórshavn?
From Tórshavn the aurora is visible on most active nights — first low to the north, from about Kp 1.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Tórshavn?
Face north (about 352° from true north). At Kp 1 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 10° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
What is the best month to see the aurora in Tórshavn?
Over 2005–2025, September gave the best odds in Tórshavn (15% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by April (15%).
When is the aurora season in Tórshavn?
From 3 May to 9 August the sky in Tórshavn never gets dark enough. Outside that period the aurora can be seen whenever activity and clouds allow.
Is there much light pollution in Tórshavn?
Almost no artificial light: faint aurora and the Milky Way are easy to see.
When was the aurora last possible in Tórshavn?
Activity last reached storm level (Kp 5 or more) during darkness in Tórshavn on 10 October 2026 (Kp 7.0) — 860 such nights since 1995. Here the aurora also appears on many quieter nights.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Tórshavn share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Tórshavn 1 km
- Nólsoy 5 km