Pomeranian Voivodeship, PolandMagnetic latitude 51.1°Population 16,2502 m above sea level
Can you see the northern lights in Ustka?
From Ustka 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 318 nights.
Right now
Quiet right now (Kp 1.3).
Latest measured half-hour activity worldwide: Hp30 1.3.
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 Partly cloudy (65% cloud) — look for gaps.
- Darkness Dark from 19:07 to 06:08.
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 Unlikely · 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 Unlikely · Kp 4
- Thu 22 4 Unlikely · 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 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 — Unlikely · Kp 4 · best around 03:30 · Forecast cloud: 65%. · 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 01:13 local time
Unlikely
Best around 02:00. Forecast max Kp 4.0 (this place needs 5.7), average cloud 65%.
- Dark enough
- 19:07 – 06:08
- Sunset
- 17:49 · sunrise 07:26
- Moon
- 34% · ↑ 15:01 · ↓ 20:12
- 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 (0°)
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 | Sat, 01 | Sat, 04 | Sat, 19 | Sat, 22 | Sun, 01 | Sun, 04 | Sun, 19 | Sun, 22 | Mon, 01 | Mon, 04 | Mon, 19 | Mon, 22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low cloud | 0% | 0% | 45% | 74% | 45% | 7% | 81% | 74% | 54% | 16% | 23% | 27% |
| Mid cloud | 0% | 0% | 87% | 80% | 82% | 69% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| High cloud | 4% | 27% | 96% | 1% | 94% | 43% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 64% | 0% | 0% |
| Temperature | 9 °C | 8 °C | 12 °C | 12 °C | 11 °C | 11 °C | 12 °C | 10 °C | 9 °C | 7 °C | 7 °C | 5 °C |
| Feels like | 6 °C | 6 °C | 10 °C | 11 °C | 9 °C | 9 °C | 8 °C | 8 °C | 6 °C | 5 °C | 4 °C | 2 °C |
| Wind | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 4 m/s | 2 m/s | 6 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 2 m/s | 3 m/s | 2 m/s |
| Visibility | 26 km | 20 km | 25 km | 19 km | 21 km | 22 km | 33 km | 31 km | 26 km | 21 km | 28 km | 17 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 Ustka
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° | 1,268 km |
| 3 | Below the horizon | 1° | 6° | 1,045 km |
| 4 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 4° | 10° | 823 km |
| 5 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 7° | 15° | 600 km |
| 6 | Visible to the north | 14° | 26° | 378 km |
| 7 | Visible to the north | 33° | 51° | 156 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 Ustka 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 Ustka 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 0.2°), 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 Ustka
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
March has been the best month (1% of nights), followed by August (1%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 1% | 39% | 8.4 h | 15° / 17°C |
| October | 0.3% | 21% | 10.8 h | 11° / 13°C |
| November | 0.5% | 9% | 12.5 h | 7° / 8°C |
| December | 0.3% | 8% | 13.5 h | 3° / 5°C |
| January | 0.2% | 8% | 13.0 h | 2° / 3°C |
| February | 0% | 7% | 11.4 h | 1° / 3°C |
| March | 1% | 20% | 9.5 h | 2° / 4°C |
| April | 0.6% | 42% | 6.8 h | 5° / 7°C |
Darkness through the year
- No full darkness (Sun 12° below the horizon) from 10 June to 3 July — the sky stays too bright for most auroras.
- Next new moon 9 November, next full moon 26 October. The darkest skies are in the week around new moon.
Aurora nights in Ustka 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
- Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport (GDN) · 106 km
- Typical low / high in March
- 2° / 4°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
- Poland has no legal winter tyre requirement (minimum tread depth 1.6 mm applies year-round). Road conditions: GDDKiA map service for national roads (winter-condition icons use IMGW data); GDDKiA hotline 19 111. Road conditions
- Access to land
- State forests are open to the public by default under Art. 26 of the Forest Act, except permanently closed areas (young plantings under 4 m, refuges, erosion zones) and signposted temporary bans (e.g. high fire risk, logging); national parks have their own access rules.
- Weather service
- Institute of Meteorology and Water Management (IMGW-PIB)
Questions and answers
What Kp do you need to see the aurora in Ustka?
From Ustka 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 Ustka?
Face north (about 0° from true north). At Kp 5.7 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 14° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
What is the best month to see the aurora in Ustka?
Over 2005–2025, March gave the best odds in Ustka (1% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by August (1%).
When is the aurora season in Ustka?
From 10 June to 3 July the sky in Ustka never gets dark enough. Outside that period the aurora can be seen whenever activity and clouds allow.
Is there much light pollution in Ustka?
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 Ustka?
The most recent night in our data when activity reached the level Ustka needs, during darkness, was 10 October 2026 (Kp 7.0). It has happened on 318 nights since 1995.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Ustka share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Wodnica 2 km
- Przewłoka 3 km
- Mokrzyca 3 km
- Grabno 3 km
- Lędowo 4 km
- Modła 5 km
- Duninowo 5 km
- Ustka 5 km
- Pęplino 6 km
- Niestkowo 6 km
- Charnowo 6 km
- Wytowno 7 km
- Gałęzinowo 7 km
- Starkowo 8 km
- Zaleskie 9 km
- Redwanki 9 km
- Poddąbie 9 km
- Bydlino 9 km
- Możdżanowo 10 km
- Machowino 10 km
- Machowinko 10 km
- Krzemienica 10 km
- Złakowo 11 km
- Swołowo 12 km
- Objazda 12 km
- Dębina 12 km
- Marszewo 13 km
- Górsko 13 km
- Postomino 14 km
- Osieki 14 km
- Rowy 15 km
- Królewo 15 km
- Wicko Morskie 17 km
- Komnino 17 km
- Retowo 18 km
- Czysta 18 km
- Wysoka 19 km
- Gardna Mała 20 km
- Gardna Wielka 21 km