Connacht, IrelandMagnetic latitude 50.4°Population 1,31829 m above sea level
Can you see the northern lights in Oughterard?
From Oughterard the aurora is seen only during geomagnetic storms (about Kp 6 or more), usually as a glow low in the north. Cameras often pick it up before the eye does. Since 1995 that level (Kp 6) was reached during darkness here on 227 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
Only in photos, if at all
- Solar activity Enough for a camera: Kp 4.7 expected, 4.3 needed for photos, 6 for the eye.
- Sky Mostly clear (23% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 19:43 to 07:00. A bright moon (80%) washes out faint displays.
What to do: Point a phone in night mode north (3–10 s exposure). A red or green glow often shows on the screen before you can see it.
Wednesday 21 October — Photos only · Kp 4.7 · best around 23:30 · Forecast cloud: 23%. · 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 23:23 local time
Unlikely
Best around 00:00. Forecast max Kp 4.7 (this place needs 6), average cloud 23%.
- Dark enough
- 19:43 – 07:00
- Sunset
- 18:27 · sunrise 08:17
- Moon
- 80% · ↑ 17:00 · ↓ 03:25
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 6
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 4.3 (a red glow low in the north).
- Look towards
- north (354°)
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 | Wed, 23 | Thu, 02 | Thu, 05 | Thu, 20 | Thu, 23 | Fri, 02 | Fri, 05 | Fri, 20 | Fri, 23 | Sat, 02 | Sat, 05 | Sat, 20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low cloud | 21% | 8% | 1% | 9% | 35% | 42% | 18% | 15% | 22% | 42% | 81% | 35% |
| Mid cloud | 37% | 0% | 0% | 100% | 100% | 80% | 27% | 55% | 86% | 100% | 100% | 0% |
| High cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 91% | 45% | 13% | 3% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 19% |
| Temperature | 7 °C | 6 °C | 5 °C | 8 °C | 7 °C | 7 °C | 6 °C | 8 °C | 8 °C | 8 °C | 8 °C | 10 °C |
| Feels like | 6 °C | 5 °C | 4 °C | 6 °C | 6 °C | 4 °C | 3 °C | 6 °C | 6 °C | 7 °C | 5 °C | 6 °C |
| Wind | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 1 m/s | 3 m/s | 2 m/s | 3 m/s | 5 m/s | 3 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 5 m/s | 10 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
Weather in Oughterard
The aurora only shows through clear skies, so the weather matters as much as the Kp index. Here is the general forecast for Oughterard: temperature, wind and the chance of rain for the coming days.
Planning further ahead? See the hour-by-hour weather forecast for Oughterard on Atlas of Seasons.
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What you would see from Oughterard
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 | Below the horizon | -2° | 2° | 1,346 km |
| 3 | Below the horizon | 0° | 5° | 1,123 km |
| 4 | Below the horizon | 3° | 8° | 901 km |
| 5 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 6° | 13° | 678 km |
| 6 | Visible to the north | 11° | 21° | 456 km |
| 7 | Visible to the north | 23° | 39° | 234 km |
| 8 | Visible to the north | 84° | 87° | 11 km |
| 9 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
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 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 camera in Oughterard Overhead in the Arctic; low in the north from southern Norway, Sweden, Finland and northern Scotland.
- Kp 5 Minor storm (G1) next 24 h Scotland, southern Scandinavia, the Baltic states, the northern US states and southern Canada.
- Kp 6 Moderate storm (G2) eye in Oughterard 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
Terrain is not modelled for this place.
From elevation data (AWS Terrain Tiles) along seven lines of sight up to 30 km.
Best months to see the aurora in Oughterard
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
October has been the best month (1% of nights), followed by November (1%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 0.6% | 46% | 8.5 h | 10° / 17°C |
| October | 1% | 48% | 10.8 h | 8° / 14°C |
| November | 1% | 45% | 12.5 h | 5° / 10°C |
| December | 0.5% | 40% | 13.4 h | 4° / 8°C |
| January | 0.2% | 41% | 12.9 h | 3° / 8°C |
| February | 0.7% | 39% | 11.4 h | 3° / 8°C |
| March | 0.9% | 46% | 9.5 h | 3° / 10°C |
| April | 0.5% | 53% | 7.0 h | 5° / 12°C |
Aurora nights in Oughterard since 1995
Nights when Kp reached 6 or more while it was dark here.
Most recent strong nights
- 10 October 2026 · Kp 7.0
- 15 May 2026 · Kp 6.0
- 22 March 2026 · Kp 6.7
- 20 March 2026 · Kp 7.0
- 13 March 2026 · Kp 6.0
- 20 January 2026 · Kp 7.7
- 19 January 2026 · Kp 8.7
- 10 December 2025 · Kp 6.0
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Connemara Regional Airport (NNR) · 23 km
Ireland West Airport Knock (NOC) · 65 km - Typical low / high in October
- 8° / 14°C
- What to wear
- Cool nights: layers, a windproof jacket, hat and gloves for standing still outside. Full clothing guide
- Emergency number
- 112 / 999
- Winter driving
- Irish law does not require winter tyres (legal minimum tread 1.6 mm; Gardaí recommend at least 3 mm in winter); check TII Traffic Info for national road conditions. Road conditions
- Access to land
- Ireland has no general right to roam: off public roads and rights of way, access to private (and state) land is at the landowner's discretion and can be withdrawn, though permissive access is common on waymarked trails and schemes like the Mountain Access Scheme.
- Weather service
- Met Éireann
Questions and answers
What Kp do you need to see the aurora in Oughterard?
From Oughterard the aurora is seen only during geomagnetic storms (about Kp 6 or more), usually as a glow low in the north. Cameras often pick it up before the eye does.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Oughterard?
Face north (about 354° from true north). At Kp 6 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 11° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
What is the best month to see the aurora in Oughterard?
Over 2005–2025, October gave the best odds in Oughterard (1% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by November (1%).
When is the aurora season in Oughterard?
Oughterard gets dark enough for the aurora all year round, though the long winter nights give the most hours to watch.
Is there much light pollution in Oughterard?
Almost no artificial light: faint aurora and the Milky Way are easy to see.
When was the aurora last possible in Oughterard?
The most recent night in our data when activity reached the level Oughterard needs, during darkness, was 10 October 2026 (Kp 7.0). It has happened on 227 nights since 1995.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Oughterard share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Rosscahill 7 km
- Muckanaghkillew 12 km
- Ballynalty 13 km
- Maam Cross 14 km
- Cornamona 14 km
- Claggan 14 km
- Maum West 19 km
- Maum East 19 km
- Maum 19 km
- Gortmore 19 km
- Knocknafaska 19 km
- Rosmuck 20 km
- Kilbrickan 20 km
- Costelloe 20 km
- Cur 21 km
- Crumpaun 21 km
- Bealadangan 21 km
- Roskeeda 22 km
- Derryrush 22 km
- Tooreengarve 22 km
- Flannery Bridge 25 km