Friesland, NetherlandsMagnetic latitude 49.4°Population 45,1863 m above sea level
Can you see the northern lights in Drachten?
From Drachten the aurora is seen only during geomagnetic storms (about Kp 6.3 or more), usually as a glow low in the north. Cameras often pick it up before the eye does. Since 1995 that level (Kp 6.3) was reached during darkness here on 161 nights.
Right now
Quiet right now (Kp 3.3).
Measured activity in the last half hour: Hp30 5.
Updates every minute while this page is open. Ground data: GFZ Potsdam Hp30 index (CC BY 4.0).
Tonight in one minute
Not tonight
- Solar activity Too weak: Kp 2.7 expected, 6.3 needed here.
- Sky Overcast (90% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 19:52 to 06:50.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
- Detailed forecast Fri 16 2.7 No · Kp 2.7
- Sat 17 1.7 No · Kp 1.7
- 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 No · Kp 4
- Thu 22 4 No · Kp 4
- Fri 23 4 No · 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 Unlikely · Kp 5
- Sat 31 5 Unlikely · 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 — No · Kp 2.7 · Forecast cloud: 90%. · 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 21:54 local time
Unlikely
Best around 21:00. Forecast max Kp 2.7 (this place needs 6.3), average cloud 90%.
- Dark enough
- 19:52 – 06:50
- Sunset
- 18:37 · sunrise 08:05
- Moon
- 33% · ↑ 15:33 · ↓ 21:10
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 6.3
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 4.7 (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 | Fri, 21 | Sat, 00 | Sat, 03 | Sat, 06 | Sat, 21 | Sun, 00 | Sun, 03 | Sun, 06 | Sun, 21 | Mon, 00 | Mon, 03 | Mon, 06 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Temperature | 13 °C | 12 °C | 12 °C | 11 °C | 10 °C | 11 °C | 9 °C | 9 °C | 10 °C | 10 °C | 9 °C | 9 °C |
| Feels like | 13 °C | 12 °C | 12 °C | 11 °C | 10 °C | 11 °C | 8 °C | 7 °C | 9 °C | 8 °C | 7 °C | 7 °C |
| Wind | 4 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 3 m/s | 2 m/s | 3 m/s | 2 m/s | 4 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s |
Cloud layers and weather: MET Norway (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 Drachten
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° | 1° | 1,457 km |
| 3 | Below the horizon | -1° | 3° | 1,234 km |
| 4 | Below the horizon | 1° | 6° | 1,012 km |
| 5 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 4° | 10° | 790 km |
| 6 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 8° | 17° | 567 km |
| 7 | Visible to the north | 15° | 28° | 345 km |
| 8 | Visible to the north | 40° | 58° | 122 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 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) camera in Drachten Scotland, southern Scandinavia, the Baltic states, the northern US states and southern Canada.
- Kp 6 Moderate storm (G2) eye in Drachten 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
Rural to suburban. Some sky glow from nearby lights. Moderate displays are fine; faint ones are easier a few kilometres out.
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 Drachten
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
Activity of Kp 6.3 or more is too rare here for monthly odds to be meaningful. The table still shows how often nights are clear and dark.
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 0% | 43% | 8.6 h | 12° / 19°C |
| October | 0.3% | 26% | 10.8 h | 8° / 15°C |
| November | 0% | 17% | 12.5 h | 5° / 9°C |
| December | 0% | 13% | 13.4 h | 2° / 6°C |
| January | 0% | 17% | 12.9 h | 1° / 5°C |
| February | 0% | 22% | 11.4 h | 1° / 6°C |
| March | 0.2% | 37% | 9.5 h | 2° / 9°C |
| April | 0.3% | 53% | 7.1 h | 5° / 13°C |
Aurora nights in Drachten since 1995
Nights when Kp reached 6.3 or more while it was dark here.
Most recent strong nights
- 10 October 2026 · Kp 7.0
- 22 March 2026 · Kp 6.7
- 20 March 2026 · Kp 7.0
- 20 January 2026 · Kp 7.7
- 19 January 2026 · Kp 8.7
- 3 December 2025 · Kp 6.7
- 12 November 2025 · Kp 7.3
- 11 November 2025 · Kp 8.7
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Groningen Airport Eelde (GRQ) · 32 km
- Typical low / high in August
- 14° / 22°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 not mandatory in the Netherlands, and studded tyres are banned. Live traffic info: Rijkswaterstaat Verkeersinformatie (https://www.rwsverkeersinfo.nl). Road conditions
- Access to land
- There is no general right to roam; many nature areas (e.g. Veluwe, many Staatsbosbeheer terrains) may only be entered between sunrise and sunset or ban off-path access at night, and rangers fine night-time entry and verge parking — check signs at each area.
- Official space-weather service
- KNMI Ruimteweer (space weather alert service)
- Weather service
- KNMI (Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute)
Questions and answers
What Kp do you need to see the aurora in Drachten?
From Drachten the aurora is seen only during geomagnetic storms (about Kp 6.3 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 Drachten?
Face north (about 358° from true north). At Kp 6.3 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 15° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
When is the aurora season in Drachten?
Drachten 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 Drachten?
Some sky glow from nearby lights. Moderate displays are fine; faint ones are easier a few kilometres out.
When was the aurora last possible in Drachten?
The most recent night in our data when activity reached the level Drachten needs, during darkness, was 10 October 2026 (Kp 7.0). It has happened on 161 nights since 1995.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Drachten share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Folgeren 1 km
- De Wieken 1 km
- Selmien 3 km
- De Drait 3 km
- Drachten-Azeven 3 km
- Gemeente Smallingerland 4 km
- Rottevalle 4 km
- Opeinde 4 km
- Kortehemmen 4 km
- Egbertsgaasten 4 km
- Drachtstercompagnie 4 km
- Buitenstverlaat 4 km
- Ureterp aan de Vaart 5 km
- Ureterp 5 km
- Smalle Ee 5 km
- Olterterp 5 km
- Middelburen 5 km
- Luchtenveld 5 km
- Houtigehage 5 km
- De Wilgen 5 km
- De Galhoek 5 km
- Boornbergum 5 km
- It Wytfean 6 km
- Nijega 6 km
- Heidehuizen 6 km
- De Tike 6 km
- Boelenslaan 6 km
- Beetsterzwaag 6 km
- Trimunt 7 km
- Oudega 7 km
- Gemeente Opsterland 7 km
- Opperburen 7 km
- Eastermar 7 km
- Frieschepalen 7 km
- Uiteinde 8 km
- Oud-Beets 8 km
- Nij Beets 8 km
- Iniaheide 8 km
- It Heechsân 8 km
- Harkema 8 km