Southern Region, IcelandMagnetic latitude 63.0°10 m above sea level
Northern lights in Vík í Mýrdal
From Vík í Mýrdal the aurora can show up on almost any clear, dark night — low to the north-north-west when activity is quiet, higher and overhead when it picks up. Since 1995 that level (Kp 4.7) was reached during darkness here on 840 nights.
Right now
It is still light here. Darkness starts at 19:36.
Updates every minute while this page is open.
Tonight in one minute
Not tonight
- Solar activity Strong enough: Kp 2.7 expected, 0 needed here.
- Sky Overcast (93% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 19:36 to 06:28.
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 Possible · Kp 1.7
- 27-day trend Sun 18 2 Possible · Kp 2
- Mon 19 2 Possible · Kp 2
- Tue 20 3 Possible · 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 Good chance · Kp 2
- Fri 30 5 Good chance · Kp 5
- Sat 31 5 Good chance · Kp 5
- Sun 1 5 Good chance · Kp 5
- Mon 2 3 Good chance · Kp 3
- Tue 3 2 Good chance · Kp 2
- Wed 4 2 Good chance · Kp 2
- Thu 5 3 Good chance · Kp 3
- Fri 6 3 Good chance · Kp 3
- Sat 7 3 Good chance · Kp 3
Thursday 22 October — Good chance · Kp 4 · best around 00:30 · Forecast cloud: 58%. · 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 13:44 local time
Unlikely
Best around 03:00. Forecast max Kp 2.7 (this place needs 0), average cloud 93%.
- Dark enough
- 19:36 – 06:28
- Sunset
- 17:54 · sunrise 08:09
- Moon
- 31% · ↑ 17:57 · ↓ 19:22
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 0
- Look towards
- north-north-west (348°)
Clearer skies nearby tonight
Tonight's cloud forecast is similar in every direction within 100 km (93% 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 Vík í Mýrdal
Facing north-north-west. Bands show where the aurora sits at two activity levels.
| Kp | What you see | Lower edge | Ray tops | Distance to the aurora |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Visible to the north-north-west | 13° | 25° | 389 km |
| 2 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 3 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 4 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-east | – | – | – |
| 5 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-east | – | – | – |
| 6 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-east | – | – | – |
| 7 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-east | – | – | – |
| 8 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-east | – | – | – |
| 9 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-east | – | – | – |
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 Vík í Mýrdal 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 10 km to the north. 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 terrain rises to about 9° above the horizon towards the north-north-west. That hides low aurora: here you need about Kp 0 instead of Kp 0. A hilltop, shore or open field with a clear view to the north-north-west helps.
From elevation data (AWS Terrain Tiles) along seven lines of sight up to 30 km.
Best months to see the aurora in Vík í Mýrdal
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
December has been the best month (40% of nights), followed by November (39%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 32% | 32% | 7.1 h | 9° / 11°C |
| October | 39% | 39% | 10.5 h | 7° / 9°C |
| November | 39% | 39% | 13.3 h | 5° / 7°C |
| December | 40% | 40% | 14.6 h | 4° / 6°C |
| January | 30% | 30% | 13.9 h | 4° / 6°C |
| February | 29% | 29% | 11.5 h | 4° / 6°C |
| March | 33% | 33% | 8.8 h | 4° / 6°C |
| April | 33% | 36% | 4.0 h | 5° / 7°C |
Darkness through the year
- No full darkness (Sun 12° below the horizon) from 28 April to 14 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 Vík í Mýrdal 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 5.0
- 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 Vík í Mýrdal
-
Dyrhólaey (upper car park)
Headland viewpoint over the coast and sea stacks without sneaker-wave exposure; access may be restricted in nesting season (May-June). · about 20 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Reynisfjara (car park area)
Black-sand beach with basalt columns and Reynisdrangar sea stacks as foreground; watch from well above the waterline. · about 10 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Skógafoss
60 m waterfall with a car park right off the Ring Road, a classic aurora foreground. · about 33 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
Local knowledge
- Vík is a very small village, so dark skies are only a few minutes' drive along the Ring Road.
- The south coast is often cloudier than North Iceland; check the vedur.is cloud forecast and be ready to move.
- Scout coastal viewpoints in daylight before returning after dark.
- Dyrhólaey's upper car park lets you view the coast and sea stacks without going near the waterline.
- Check umferdin.is / road.is for Ring Road closures, which happen in storms around Mýrdalssandur.
Sneaker waves at Reynisfjara have killed visitors; obey the yellow/red warning lights, stay at least 30 m from the water and never turn your back to the sea.
Do not walk on Reynisfjara in the dark; visibility is essential to see incoming waves.
Strong winds on the south coast can damage car doors and blow people off balance; hold doors firmly.
Practical information
- Typical low / high in December
- 4° / 6°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
- Under Regulation 822/2004, studded tyres and chains are prohibited from 15 April to 31 October unless driving conditions require them, as judged by local police. The Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration (Vegagerðin) publishes road conditions on umferdin.is. Road conditions
- Access to land
- Off-road driving is banned under the Nature Conservation Act no. 60/2013 and punishable by fines or imprisonment. Exceptions are glaciers and solidly frozen or snow-covered ground where nature cannot be damaged. You may park only about one car's width off the road, and only where it causes no damage or accident risk.
- Official space-weather service
- Icelandic Met Office aurora forecast
- Weather service
- Icelandic Met Office (Veðurstofa Íslands)
Questions and answers
What Kp do you need to see the aurora in Vík í Mýrdal?
From Vík í Mýrdal the aurora can show up on almost any clear, dark night — low to the north-north-west when activity is quiet, higher and overhead when it picks up.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Vík í Mýrdal?
Face north-north-west (about 348° from true north). At Kp 0 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 Vík í Mýrdal?
Over 2005–2025, December gave the best odds in Vík í Mýrdal (40% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by November (39%).
When is the aurora season in Vík í Mýrdal?
From 28 April to 14 August the sky in Vík í Mýrdal never gets dark enough. Outside that period the aurora can be seen whenever activity and clouds allow.
Is there much light pollution in Vík í Mýrdal?
Little artificial light. Faint displays are visible once your eyes have adapted. A noticeably darker area starts about 10 km to the north.
When was the aurora last possible in Vík í Mýrdal?
Activity last reached storm level (Kp 5 or more) during darkness in Vík í Mýrdal on 10 October 2026 (Kp 7.0) — 840 such nights since 1995. Here the aurora also appears on many quieter nights.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Vík í Mýrdal share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Mýrdalshreppur 9 km
- Skogar 30 km