Kainuu, FinlandMagnetic latitude 62.0°Population 2,348167 m above sea level
Northern lights in Puolanka
From Puolanka the aurora can show up on almost any clear, dark night — low to the north when activity is quiet, higher and overhead when it picks up. Since 1995 storms of Kp 4.7 or more reached this place during darkness on 807 nights.
Right now
It is still light here. Darkness starts at 19:24.
Magnetometer at Oulujärvi (44 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
Not tonight
- Solar activity Strong enough: Kp 1.7 expected, 0.3 needed here.
- Sky Overcast (93% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 19:24 to 06:26.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
Monday 19 October — Good chance · Kp 2 · best around 06:00 · Forecast cloud: 28%. · Reliability: medium
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 06:55 local time
Unlikely
Best around 06:00. Forecast max Kp 1.7 (this place needs 0.3), average cloud 93%.
- Dark enough
- 19:24 – 06:26
- Sunset
- 17:36 · sunrise 08:13
- Moon
- 45% · ↑ 17:57 · ↓ 20:37
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 0.3
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 0 (a red glow low in the north).
- Look towards
- north (358°)
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 | Sun, 06 | Sun, 21 | Mon, 00 | Mon, 03 | Mon, 06 | Mon, 21 | Tue, 00 | Tue, 03 | Tue, 06 | Tue, 21 | Wed, 00 | Wed, 03 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low cloud | 34% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 10% | 17% | 13% | 6% |
| Mid cloud | 1% | 3% | 0% | 0% | 4% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| High cloud | 54% | 31% | 36% | 48% | 78% | 46% | 23% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Temperature | 0 °C | -1 °C | -1 °C | 0 °C | 1 °C | 4 °C | 4 °C | 4 °C | 3 °C | 2 °C | 0 °C | 0 °C |
| Feels like | 0 °C | -3 °C | -4 °C | -4 °C | -4 °C | 0 °C | -1 °C | -1 °C | -1 °C | -1 °C | -2 °C | -3 °C |
| Wind | 1 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 3 m/s | 4 m/s | 6 m/s | 6 m/s | 5 m/s | 5 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 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
Seeing it right now?
Tell others in Kainuu. Reports from real visitors move a place up the live ranking.
Reports are anonymous: we do not store your IP address or location. One report per place every few hours.
Live webcams near Puolanka
Check the sky for yourself: public cameras within 300 km. They open on the camera owner's website.
- Ruka (opens in a new tab) Scenic
- Rovaniemi (opens in a new tab) Scenic
- Sodankylä all-sky camera (opens in a new tab) All-sky
These cameras belong to their owners — we only link to them. Most show little in daylight or under cloud, and some pause in summer.
What you would see from Puolanka
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 | 19° | 34° | 278 km |
| 2 | Visible to the north | 62° | 74° | 56 km |
| 3 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 4 | Overhead, and also to the south | – | – | – |
| 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 next 24 h eye in Puolanka camera in Puolanka Only under the auroral oval: northern Norway, Swedish and Finnish Lapland, Iceland, Alaska, northern Canada.
- Kp 3 Unsettled 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
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-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 1.5°), 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 Puolanka
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
September has been the best month (36% of nights), followed by March (32%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 36% | 37% | 6.9 h | 6° / 12°C |
| October | 16% | 17% | 10.5 h | 0° / 4°C |
| November | 15% | 16% | 13.3 h | -6° / -2°C |
| December | 17% | 18% | 14.6 h | -11° / -7°C |
| January | 26% | 28% | 14.1 h | -15° / -9°C |
| February | 26% | 28% | 11.5 h | -14° / -8°C |
| March | 32% | 34% | 8.4 h | -11° / -4°C |
| April | 21% | 38% | 2.4 h | -4° / 1°C |
Darkness through the year
- No full darkness (Sun 12° below the horizon) from 23 April to 19 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 Puolanka 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
- 3 April 2026 · Kp 5.7
- 2 April 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 22 March 2026 · Kp 6.7
- 20 March 2026 · Kp 7.0
- 13 March 2026 · Kp 6.0
- 3 March 2026 · Kp 5.0
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Kajaani Airport (KAJ) · 65 km
Oulu Airport (OUL) · 109 km - Typical low / high in September
- 6° / 12°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 from 1 November to 31 March when weather or road conditions require them. Minimum tread is 3 mm, and since December 2024 non-studded winter tyres need the three-peak mountain snowflake symbol. Studded tyres may be used from 1 November to 31 March or until the Monday after Easter. Fintraffic's Liikennetilanne (Traffic Situation) service shows road conditions and road weather cameras. Road conditions
- Access to land
- Everyman's right (jokamiehenoikeus) lets anyone move about, and camp or stay temporarily, in the countryside regardless of who owns it, without permission. It does not cover yards, cultivated land or other specially designated areas, nor activities that damage nature or disturb others.
- Official space-weather service
- Finnish Meteorological Institute: Auroras and space weather · FMI Auroras Now! (all-sky cameras) · ISES RWC Finland (FMI)
- Weather service
- Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI)
Questions and answers
What Kp do you need to see the aurora in Puolanka?
From Puolanka the aurora can show up on almost any clear, dark night — low to the north when activity is quiet, higher and overhead when it picks up.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Puolanka?
Face north (about 358° from true north). At Kp 0.3 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 Puolanka?
Over 2005–2025, September gave the best odds in Puolanka (36% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by March (32%).
When is the aurora season in Puolanka?
From 23 April to 19 August the sky in Puolanka never gets dark enough. Outside that period the aurora can be seen whenever activity and clouds allow.
Is there much light pollution in Puolanka?
Little artificial light. Faint displays are visible once your eyes have adapted. A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the south-south-east.
When was the aurora last possible in Puolanka?
Activity last reached storm level (Kp 5 or more) during darkness in Puolanka on 10 October 2026 (Kp 7.3) — 807 such nights since 1995. Here the aurora also appears on many quieter nights.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Puolanka share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Ryhtälänniemi 1 km
- Nurmi 3 km
- Kivarinjärvi 3 km
- Porkkala 4 km
- Alliniemi 4 km
- Aittovaara 4 km
- Puolanka 5 km
- Myllylä 5 km
- Marttila 5 km
- Jokela 5 km
- Hovi 5 km
- Leipivaara 5 km
- Niskanperä 6 km
- Rantakylä 6 km
- Heikkilä 7 km
- Aittokylä 7 km
- Vihajärvi 7 km
- Pahkavaara 7 km
- Ylitalo 8 km
- Vantas 8 km
- Alatalo 8 km
- Kuorevaara 8 km
- Vantasperä 8 km
- Puolanka 9 km
- Lauttavaara 9 km
- Pihlaja 10 km
- Nivanperä 10 km
- Pitkälänvaara 10 km
- Housuvaara 11 km
- Petäjä 13 km
- Honkavaara 13 km
- Auho 13 km
- Rasinkylä 14 km
- Louhi 14 km
- Pikkuperä 14 km
- Sammakkovaara 14 km
- Väyrylä 15 km
- Varpula 15 km
- Neulikko 15 km
- Hiltulanniemi 15 km