Nordland, NorwayMagnetic latitude 65.9°Population 4,7204 m above sea level
Northern lights in Svolvær
Svolvær 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.
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Right now
It is still light here. Darkness starts at 19:25.
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 (84% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 19:25 to 06:10.
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 Possible · 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
Sunday 18 October — Possible · Kp 1.7 · best around 00:30 · Forecast cloud: 81%. · Reliability: medium
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 15:45 local time
Possible
Best around 00:00. Forecast max Kp 2.7 (this place needs 0), average cloud 84%.
- Dark enough
- 19:25 – 06:10
- Sunset
- 17:23 · sunrise 08:13
- 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
Tonight's cloud forecast is similar in every direction within 100 km (85% 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 Svolvær
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 | Visible to the north | 57° | 71° | 67 km |
| 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 Svolvær 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
Rural to suburban. Some sky glow from nearby lights. Moderate displays are fine; faint ones are easier a few kilometres out.
A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the south-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 12° 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 Svolvær
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
October has been the best month (26% of nights), followed by December (24%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 24% | 24% | 6.0 h | 8° / 11°C |
| October | 26% | 26% | 10.4 h | 4° / 7°C |
| November | 21% | 21% | 13.8 h | 1° / 4°C |
| December | 24% | 24% | 15.3 h | -1° / 2°C |
| January | 23% | 23% | 14.5 h | -3° / 0°C |
| February | 22% | 22% | 11.5 h | -3° / 0°C |
| March | 20% | 20% | 8.0 h | -2° / 1°C |
| April | 12% | 27% | 1.6 h | 1° / 4°C |
Darkness through the year
- No full darkness (Sun 12° below the horizon) from 15 April to 28 August — the sky stays too bright for most auroras.
- Midnight sun from 27 May to 17 July.
- Polar night from 10 December to 1 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 Svolvær 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
- 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 Svolvær
-
Austnesfjorden rest area
A Scenic Route rest area and viewpoint with parking beside a fjord framed by mountains. · about 14 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Rørvika
A small beach just off the E10 on the way to Henningsvær, with south- and west-facing sea views. · about 16 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Henningsvær
A fishing village on outer skerries, where the quieter areas around the edge of the village are dark. · about 24 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Laukvik
A village on the north side of Austvågøy with an open, north-facing view over the sea. · about 34 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Gimsøysand
A flat, open beach area on north-facing Gimsøya, with a wide unobstructed horizon. · about 38 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
Local knowledge
- Lofoten is a popular aurora destination, where peaks rising straight from the sea and white beaches make classic foregrounds.
- Svolvær's climate is maritime and mild (record low about −12°C), but weather off the sea changes fast, so watch for gaps in the cloud.
- Svolvær Airport, Helle, is next to town; the E10 (Lofast) links Svolvær by road to Harstad/Narvik Airport, Evenes, and Hurtigruten calls here.
- National Scenic Route Lofoten (E10, Raftsundet–Å, 230 km) has marked rest areas such as Austnesfjorden that make safe stopping points.
- Ferries and express boats link Lofoten with Bodø.
Do not stop on the narrow E10 shoulders; use marked rest areas.
Respect private land and fields around villages and beaches.
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Svolvær Airport, Helle (SVJ) · 4 km
Harstad/Narvik Airport (EVE) · 91 km - Typical low / high in October
- 4° / 7°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 Svolvær?
Svolvær 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 Svolvær?
Face north (about 354° from true north). At Kp 0 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 57° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
What is the best month to see the aurora in Svolvær?
Over 2005–2025, October gave the best odds in Svolvær (26% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by December (24%).
When is the aurora season in Svolvær?
From 15 April to 28 August the sky in Svolvær never gets dark enough. Outside that period the aurora can be seen whenever activity and clouds allow.
Is there much light pollution in Svolvær?
Some sky glow from nearby lights. Moderate displays are fine; faint ones are easier a few kilometres out. A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the south-east.
When was the aurora last possible in Svolvær?
Activity last reached storm level (Kp 5 or more) during darkness in Svolvær on 10 October 2026 (Kp 7.0) — 771 such nights since 1995. Here the aurora also appears on many quieter nights.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Svolvær share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Vågan 0 km
- Svolvær (Lofoten) 0 km
- Kongsmarka 3 km
- Skrova 8 km
- Eidet 9 km
- Haversand 10 km
- Sandsletta 11 km
- Brettesnes 11 km
- Vestpollen 12 km
- Vatnfjord 14 km
- Liland 14 km
- Brenna 14 km
- Laupstad 15 km
- Ulvågen 16 km
- Straumnes 18 km
- Laukvika 18 km
- Digermulen 19 km
- Årstein 19 km
- Valen 20 km
- Pundsletta 22 km
- Stranda 35 km
- Mjelde 36 km
- Bø 36 km
- Straumshamn 36 km
- Sørdal 37 km
- Bjørnvågen 37 km
- Fitje 38 km
- Mølle 38 km
- Øvereng 39 km
- Skutvika 40 km
- Nygård 40 km