Finnmark, NorwayMagnetic latitude 68.1°Population 11,44840 m above sea level
Northern lights in Hammerfest
Hammerfest sits right under the auroral oval: on clear, dark nights the aurora is often overhead, even when activity is quiet. Clouds matter far more than the Kp number here.
Right now
It is still light here. Darkness starts at 18:52.
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 (89% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 18:52 to 05:30.
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
- Sun 18 1.7 Possible · Kp 1.7
- 27-day trend 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 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
Wednesday 21 October — Good chance · Kp 4 · best around 23:30 · Forecast cloud: 35%. · 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 15:42 local time
Possible
Best around 19:00. Forecast max Kp 2.7 (this place needs 0), average cloud 89%.
- Dark enough
- 18:52 – 05:30
- Sunset
- 16:34 · sunrise 07:50
- Moon
- 31%
- 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 (354°)
Clearer skies nearby tonight
Forecast cloud during tonight's darkness: 88% here. The clearest option within 100 km is about 100 km to the south, with 48%. Open in OpenStreetMap
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 Hammerfest
Facing north. Bands show where the aurora sits at two activity levels.
| Kp | What you see | Lower edge | Ray tops | Distance to the aurora |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 2 | Overhead, and also to the south | – | – | – |
| 3 | Overhead, and also to the south | – | – | – |
| 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 Hammerfest 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
Suburban sky. Noticeable sky glow. Bright displays are visible, but driving out of town makes a clear difference.
A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the 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 terrain rises to about 5° above the horizon towards the north. 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 helps.
From elevation data (AWS Terrain Tiles) along seven lines of sight up to 30 km.
Best months to see the aurora in Hammerfest
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
September has been the best month (19% of nights), followed by November (15%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 19% | 21% | 4.9 h | 8° / 10°C |
| October | 15% | 15% | 10.3 h | 4° / 6°C |
| November | 15% | 15% | 14.0 h | 1° / 3°C |
| December | 15% | 15% | 16.1 h | -1° / 2°C |
| January | 14% | 14% | 15.0 h | -2° / 1°C |
| February | 11% | 11% | 11.6 h | -2° / 0°C |
| March | 11% | 11% | 7.3 h | -2° / 1°C |
| April | 2% | 17% | – | 0° / 3°C |
Darkness through the year
- No full darkness (Sun 12° below the horizon) from 8 April to 3 September — the sky stays too bright for most auroras.
- Midnight sun from 15 May to 29 July.
- Polar night from 23 November to 18 January: the sun stays below the horizon, giving the longest viewing windows.
- Next new moon 9 November, next full moon 26 October. The darkest skies are in the week around new moon.
Aurora nights in Hammerfest 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 5.7
- 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
Where to watch near Hammerfest
-
Salen
A hill above the town with a panoramic view over the harbour and sea, reachable on foot. · about 1 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Fuglenes (Meridian Column)
The UNESCO Struve Arc monument on a point across the harbour, with open sea views to the north and west. · about 3 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Storvannet
A lake north of the centre near the airport, with darker surroundings than the town. · about 5 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Tyven
A higher mountain above the town, reached on foot, for an elevated view far from street lights. · about 2 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
Local knowledge
- Hammerfest has polar night from about 23 November to 19 January, giving long dark hours for aurora watching.
- The climate is subarctic but mild for the latitude: about −5°C in January, with October–December the wettest months.
- Salen hill, a 15-minute zigzag walk from the centre, offers the town's best panorama.
- Hammerfest Airport has regional flights to Tromsø, Alta and Honningsvåg, and Hurtigruten calls twice daily (northbound and southbound).
- The Struve Geodetic Arc point at Fuglenes is part of a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The trails up Salen and Tyven are icy and exposed in winter, so use traction aids and a headlamp.
Weather on the coast changes quickly, and wind chill is significant.
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Hammerfest Airport (HFT) · 2 km
- Typical low / high in September
- 8° / 10°C
- What to wear
- Cool nights: layers, a windproof jacket, hat and gloves for standing still outside. Full clothing guide
- Emergency number
- 112 (police), 113 (ambulance), 110 (fire)
- Winter driving
- Winter tyres need at least 3 mm of tread from 1 November to the first Sunday after Easter Monday (16 October to 30 April in Nordland, Troms and Finnmark). Studded tyres are allowed in the same periods and outside them when conditions require. Road conditions are on Statens vegvesen's traffic information service (vegvesen.no/trafikk). Road conditions
- Access to land
- Allemannsretten gives free access to uncultivated land (utmark) such as forest, mountain and shoreline; cultivated land and yards (innmark) need the owner's consent. Overnight stays, including tents, motorhomes and vans, must be more than 150 m from an inhabited house or cabin, and you may stay at most two nights in one spot without permission.
- Official space-weather service
- Norwegian Centre for Space Weather (NOSWE), Tromsø Geophysical Observatory, UiT
- Weather service
- Norwegian Meteorological Institute (Yr)
Questions and answers
What Kp do you need to see the aurora in Hammerfest?
Hammerfest sits right under the auroral oval: on clear, dark nights the aurora is often overhead, even when activity is quiet. Clouds matter far more than the Kp number here.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Hammerfest?
Around Hammerfest the aurora is often right overhead. Start by facing north, but look up and all around — in strong storms it can fill the whole sky and even appear behind you.
What is the best month to see the aurora in Hammerfest?
Over 2005–2025, September gave the best odds in Hammerfest (19% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by November (15%).
When is the aurora season in Hammerfest?
From 8 April to 3 September the sky in Hammerfest never gets dark enough. Outside that period the aurora can be seen whenever activity and clouds allow.
Is there much light pollution in Hammerfest?
Noticeable sky glow. Bright displays are visible, but driving out of town makes a clear difference. A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the east.
When was the aurora last possible in Hammerfest?
Activity last reached storm level (Kp 5 or more) during darkness in Hammerfest on 10 October 2026 (Kp 7.0) — 735 such nights since 1995. Here the aurora also appears on many quieter nights.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Hammerfest share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Molla 1 km
- Elvetun 1 km
- Vegen 1 km
- Rairo 1 km
- Bybo 1 km
- Gratishaugen 1 km
- Meland 2 km
- Prærien 3 km
- Forsøl 8 km
- Akkarfjord 17 km
- Mefjord 19 km
- Langstrand 19 km
- Hønseby 21 km
- Skarvfjord 23 km
- Revsneshamn 25 km
- Sauhamn 27 km
- Tufjord 39 km
- Været 39 km