Nordland, NorwayMagnetic latitude 66.3°Population 10,4685 m above sea level
Northern lights in Sortland
Sortland 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 19:22.
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 (90% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 19:22 to 06:06.
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 — Possible · Kp 3 · best around 00:00 · Forecast cloud: 81%. · 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 15:44 local time
Possible
Best around 03:00. Forecast max Kp 2.7 (this place needs 0), average cloud 90%.
- Dark enough
- 19:22 – 06:06
- Sunset
- 17:17 · sunrise 08:12
- 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 (89% 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 Sortland
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 | 78° | 83° | 22 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 Sortland 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-west. 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 2.4°), 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 Sortland
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
September has been the best month (24% of nights), followed by October (21%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 24% | 24% | 5.8 h | 8° / 11°C |
| October | 21% | 21% | 10.4 h | 5° / 7°C |
| November | 19% | 19% | 13.8 h | 2° / 5°C |
| December | 19% | 19% | 15.6 h | 1° / 3°C |
| January | 17% | 17% | 14.5 h | -1° / 2°C |
| February | 16% | 16% | 11.5 h | -1° / 1°C |
| March | 17% | 17% | 7.9 h | -1° / 2°C |
| April | 10% | 30% | 1.4 h | 2° / 4°C |
Darkness through the year
- No full darkness (Sun 12° below the horizon) from 13 April to 29 August — the sky stays too bright for most auroras.
- Midnight sun from 24 May to 19 July.
- Polar night from 5 December to 6 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 Sortland 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 Sortland
-
Sortland Bridge
The high bridge and the shore around it give open views across Sortlandsundet close to town. · about 2 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Jennestad
A quiet shoreline settlement north of Sortland with few lights. · about 9 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Nyksund
A former ghost town and fishing village at the end of the road, very dark and facing the open sea. · about 52 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Hovden
A remote fishing village on the outer coast of Langøya with open ocean horizons. · about 65 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Bleik
A fishing village on Andøya's west coast beside one of Norway's longest beaches. · about 99 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
Local knowledge
- Vesterålen is often combined with Lofoten for aurora trips, with the lights visible from about September to April.
- Sortland, 'the blue town by the strait', is the largest town in Vesterålen, and Hurtigruten calls daily at Sortland, Stokmarknes and Risøyhamn.
- The climate is wet and maritime (about 1,400 mm of precipitation a year), so you need flexibility to wait for clear spells.
- The nearest airports are Stokmarknes (Skagen) and Andøya, and Harstad/Narvik Airport is about two hours away by airport bus.
- Andenes, at the north tip, offers whale safaris in winter, and National Scenic Route Andøya runs down the island's open west coast.
Near Børvågen on Andøya, the road can close for up to 8 hours because of Andøya Spaceport operations.
Roads to remote villages like Nyksund are narrow and exposed, so check road status in winter storms.
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Stokmarknes Airport, Skagen (SKN) · 20 km
Harstad/Narvik Airport (EVE) · 56 km - Typical low / high in September
- 8° / 11°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 Sortland?
Sortland 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 Sortland?
Face north (about 354° from true north). At Kp 0 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 78° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
What is the best month to see the aurora in Sortland?
Over 2005–2025, September gave the best odds in Sortland (24% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by October (21%).
When is the aurora season in Sortland?
From 13 April to 29 August the sky in Sortland never gets dark enough. Outside that period the aurora can be seen whenever activity and clouds allow.
Is there much light pollution in Sortland?
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-west.
When was the aurora last possible in Sortland?
Activity last reached storm level (Kp 5 or more) during darkness in Sortland on 10 October 2026 (Kp 7.0) — 756 such nights since 1995. Here the aurora also appears on many quieter nights.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Sortland share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Sortland 0 km
- Strand 2 km
- Lamarka 2 km
- Ånstad 2 km
- Steiro 3 km
- Osvoll 4 km
- Kringlen 4 km
- Kjerringnes 4 km
- Bygd 4 km
- Kvalsaukan 5 km
- Sandstrand 6 km
- Bø 6 km
- Sigerfjord 7 km
- Jennestad 7 km
- Brokløys 7 km
- Breidvik 7 km
- Bøstranda 7 km
- Oshaugen 8 km
- Holand 8 km
- Vik 9 km
- Spjutvik 9 km
- Hognfjord 9 km
- Valfjord 10 km
- Rise 10 km
- Reinsnes 10 km
- Slåtten 11 km
- Holmstad 11 km
- Godfjordeid 11 km
- Blokken 11 km
- Stranda 12 km
- Stamnes 12 km
- Sørfjorden 12 km
- Sildpollen 12 km
- Riddarset 12 km
- Gåsbøl 12 km
- Bogen 12 km
- Straumfjord 14 km
- Frøskeland 14 km
- Kvanntoelva 14 km
- Selnes 15 km