Kainuu, FinlandMagnetic latitude 61.7°Population 2,567138 m above sea level
Northern lights in Vaala
From Vaala 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 that level (Kp 4.7) was reached during darkness here on 815 nights.
Right now
The aurora may be in view right now — go outside and look north!
Updates every minute while this page is open.
Tonight in one minute
Not tonight
- Solar activity Strong enough: Kp 2.7 expected, 0.3 needed here.
- Sky Overcast (98% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 19:33 to 06:23.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
- Detailed forecast Fri 16 2.7 Possible · Kp 2.7
- Sat 17 1.7 Good chance · Kp 1.7
- Sun 18 1.7 Good chance · Kp 1.7
- 27-day trend Mon 19 2 Good chance · Kp 2
- Tue 20 3 Good chance · Kp 3
- Wed 21 4 Good chance · 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
Sunday 18 October — Good chance · Kp 1.7 · best around 01:30 · Forecast cloud: 8%. · 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 21:16 local time
Unlikely
Best around 23:00. Forecast max Kp 2.7 (this place needs 0.3), average cloud 98%.
- Dark enough
- 19:33 – 06:23
- Sunset
- 17:48 · sunrise 08:09
- Moon
- 32%
- 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°)
Score = activity (NOAA Kp and OVATION) × clear sky (MET Norway) × darkness × moonlight. Methodology
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What you would see from Vaala
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 | 17° | 31° | 311 km |
| 2 | Visible to the north | 49° | 65° | 89 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 eye in Vaala camera in Vaala 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
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 north-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 Vaala
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
September has been the best month (38% of nights), followed by March (35%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 38% | 39% | 7.0 h | 6° / 13°C |
| October | 18% | 20% | 10.5 h | 0° / 5°C |
| November | 17% | 18% | 13.3 h | -6° / -2°C |
| December | 20% | 21% | 14.6 h | -11° / -6°C |
| January | 26% | 27% | 14.0 h | -14° / -9°C |
| February | 23% | 25% | 11.5 h | -14° / -8°C |
| March | 35% | 36% | 8.5 h | -10° / -3°C |
| April | 28% | 47% | 3.4 h | -4° / 3°C |
Darkness through the year
- No full darkness (Sun 12° below the horizon) from 25 April to 17 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 Vaala 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) · 52 km
Oulu Airport (OUL) · 81 km - Typical low / high in September
- 6° / 13°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 Vaala?
From Vaala 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 Vaala?
Face north (about 358° from true north). At Kp 0.3 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 17° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
What is the best month to see the aurora in Vaala?
Over 2005–2025, September gave the best odds in Vaala (38% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by March (35%).
When is the aurora season in Vaala?
From 25 April to 17 August the sky in Vaala never gets dark enough. Outside that period the aurora can be seen whenever activity and clouds allow.
Is there much light pollution in Vaala?
Little artificial light. Faint displays are visible once your eyes have adapted. A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the north-east.
When was the aurora last possible in Vaala?
Activity last reached storm level (Kp 5 or more) during darkness in Vaala on 10 October 2026 (Kp 7.3) — 815 such nights since 1995. Here the aurora also appears on many quieter nights.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Vaala share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Tikkala 2 km
- Poukamonkangas 2 km
- Vaalankurkku 2 km
- Jylhämä 3 km
- Korpelanvaara 3 km
- Ketunsaari 3 km
- Varpuvaara 3 km
- Niska 4 km
- Järvikylä 4 km
- Lintukylä 5 km
- Nimisjärvi 5 km
- Nuojuankangas 6 km
- Vaala 7 km
- Partala 8 km
- Partalankylä 8 km
- Kangaskylä 9 km
- Korvenkylä 9 km
- Kankari 9 km
- Väätäjä 10 km
- Kulma 10 km
- Kukkola 10 km
- Korpela 10 km
- Kalettomaa 10 km
- Törmäkylä 10 km
- Rytykorpi 10 km
- Itäranta 10 km
- Suutari 11 km
- Neittävä 11 km
- Mökkiperä 12 km
- Ylisuvanto 12 km
- Onnelanperä 12 km
- Porrasperä 13 km
- Säräisniemi 14 km
- Kentänkylä 14 km
- Ylikylä 14 km
- Alakylä 14 km
- Korvenkylä 14 km
- Länsiranta 14 km
- Vaala 15 km
- Pyykkö 15 km