Ulster, IrelandMagnetic latitude 51.0°Population 11,74165 m above sea level
Can you see the northern lights in Cavan?
From Cavan the aurora is seen only during geomagnetic storms (about Kp 5.7 or more), usually as a glow low in the north. Cameras often pick it up before the eye does. Since 1995 that level (Kp 5.7) was reached during darkness here on 330 nights.
Right now
Quiet right now (Kp 2.7).
Latest measured half-hour activity worldwide: Hp30 1.
Updates every minute while this page is open. Ground data: GFZ Potsdam Hp30 index (CC BY 4.0).
Tonight in one minute
Only in photos, if at all
- Solar activity Enough for a camera: Kp 4 expected, 4 needed for photos, 5.7 for the eye.
- Sky Mostly clear (5% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 19:46 to 06:44.
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.
- Detailed forecast Fri 16 4 Photos only · Kp 4
- Sat 17 2 No · Kp 2
- Sun 18 1.7 No · Kp 1.7
- 27-day trend Mon 19 2 No · Kp 2
- Tue 20 3 No · Kp 3
- Wed 21 4 Photos only · Kp 4
- Thu 22 4 Photos only · Kp 4
- Fri 23 4 Unlikely · Kp 4
- Sat 24 3 No · Kp 3
- Sun 25 2 No · Kp 2
- Mon 26 2 No · Kp 2
- Tue 27 2 No · Kp 2
- Wed 28 2 No · Kp 2
- Thu 29 2 No · Kp 2
- Fri 30 5 Photos only · Kp 5
- Sat 31 5 Photos only · Kp 5
- Sun 1 5 Unlikely · Kp 5
- Mon 2 3 No · Kp 3
- Tue 3 2 No · Kp 2
- Wed 4 2 No · Kp 2
- Thu 5 3 No · Kp 3
- Fri 6 3 No · Kp 3
- Sat 7 3 No · Kp 3
Saturday 17 October — Photos only · Kp 4 · best around 02:30 · Forecast cloud: 5%. · 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 22:01 local time
Unlikely
Best around 01:00. Forecast max Kp 4.0 (this place needs 5.7), average cloud 5%.
- Dark enough
- 19:46 – 06:44
- Sunset
- 18:30 · sunrise 08:00
- Moon
- 33% · ↑ 15:35 · ↓ 20:59
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 5.7
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 4 (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 | Fri, 22 | Sat, 01 | Sat, 04 | Sat, 19 | Sat, 22 | Sun, 01 | Sun, 04 | Sun, 19 | Sun, 22 | Mon, 01 | Mon, 04 | Mon, 19 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 23% | 2% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 5% |
| Mid cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| High cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Temperature | 5 °C | 4 °C | 2 °C | 5 °C | 4 °C | 3 °C | 3 °C | 6 °C | 4 °C | -1 °C | 1 °C | 8 °C |
| Feels like | 2 °C | 1 °C | -1 °C | 3 °C | 2 °C | 0 °C | 0 °C | 4 °C | 1 °C | -4 °C | -2 °C | 5 °C |
| Wind | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 1 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 3 m/s | 1 m/s | 2 m/s | 3 m/s |
| Visibility | 34 km | 36 km | 35 km | 32 km | 25 km | 39 km | 40 km | 26 km | 23 km | 17 km | 18 km | 19 km |
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?
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What you would see from Cavan
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 | -1° | 3° | 1,279 km |
| 3 | Below the horizon | 1° | 6° | 1,056 km |
| 4 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 3° | 10° | 834 km |
| 5 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 7° | 15° | 612 km |
| 6 | Visible to the north | 13° | 25° | 389 km |
| 7 | Visible to the north | 31° | 49° | 167 km |
| 8 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 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 next 24 h camera in Cavan 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) eye in Cavan 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
Bright suburban sky. Strong sky glow washes out faint aurora. Head out of town for anything but a bright display.
A noticeably darker area starts about 5 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 horizon towards the north is open (terrain below 0.6°), 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 Cavan
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
May has been the best month (1% of nights), followed by February (1%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 1% | 40% | 8.5 h | 9° / 16°C |
| October | 0.6% | 35% | 10.8 h | 7° / 13°C |
| November | 0.6% | 28% | 12.5 h | 4° / 9°C |
| December | 0.3% | 27% | 13.5 h | 3° / 7°C |
| January | 0.3% | 28% | 13.0 h | 2° / 6°C |
| February | 1% | 29% | 11.4 h | 2° / 7°C |
| March | 0.8% | 38% | 9.5 h | 3° / 9°C |
| April | 0.6% | 44% | 6.9 h | 4° / 12°C |
Aurora nights in Cavan since 1995
Nights when Kp reached 5.7 or more while it was dark here.
Most recent strong nights
- 10 October 2026 · Kp 7.0
- 4 October 2026 · Kp 5.7
- 15 May 2026 · Kp 6.0
- 3 April 2026 · Kp 5.7
- 22 March 2026 · Kp 6.7
- 20 March 2026 · Kp 7.0
- 13 March 2026 · Kp 6.0
- 16 February 2026 · Kp 5.7
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Dublin Airport (DUB) · 96 km
Ireland West Airport Knock (NOC) · 96 km - Typical low / high in May
- 7° / 15°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 Cavan?
From Cavan the aurora is seen only during geomagnetic storms (about Kp 5.7 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 Cavan?
Face north (about 354° from true north). At Kp 5.7 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 Cavan?
Over 2005–2025, May gave the best odds in Cavan (1% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by February (1%).
When is the aurora season in Cavan?
Cavan 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 Cavan?
Strong sky glow washes out faint aurora. Head out of town for anything but a bright display. A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the north.
When was the aurora last possible in Cavan?
The most recent night in our data when activity reached the level Cavan needs, during darkness, was 10 October 2026 (Kp 7.0). It has happened on 330 nights since 1995.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Cavan share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Daggan 4 km
- Gartbrattan 5 km
- Lisreagh 5 km
- Gallon 5 km
- Crossdoney 6 km
- Butlersbridge 6 km
- Ballinagh 7 km
- Ballyhaise 7 km
- Derrygoss 7 km
- Killyconnan 7 km
- Denn Glebe 7 km
- Stradone 8 km
- Lavey 8 km
- Largan 8 km
- Drumcarban 8 km
- Carrickaboy 8 km
- Larah 9 km
- Lahard 9 km
- Bellanacargy 9 km
- Drung 9 km
- Cross Keys 10 km
- Drumbrawn 10 km
- Tullycoe 11 km
- Redhills 12 km
- Killavally 12 km
- Killeshandra 12 km
- Carrigan 12 km
- Aubawn 12 km
- Derrylane 12 km
- Tirlahode Lower 12 km
- Bunnoe 12 km
- Lisboduff 13 km
- Croaghan 13 km
- Drumcor 13 km
- Clifferna 13 km
- Carrickallen 15 km
- Arvagh 16 km
- Mullaghoran 17 km
- Mountain Lodge 17 km
- Killegar 17 km