Subcarpathia, PolandMagnetic latitude 45.5°Population 39,684289 m above sea level
Can you see the northern lights in Sanok?
Only severe geomagnetic storms (Kp 8.3 or more) bring the aurora into view from Sanok — a few nights per solar cycle, low in the north. Since 1995 that level (Kp 8.3) was reached during darkness here on 19 nights.
Right now
It is still light here. Darkness starts at 18:46.
Latest measured half-hour activity worldwide: Hp30 1.
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, 8.3 needed here.
- Sky Overcast (100% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 18:46 to 05:47.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
- Detailed forecast Sat 17 2.7 No · Kp 2.7
- Sun 18 1.7 No · Kp 1.7
- Mon 19 2 No · Kp 2
- 27-day trend 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 No · Kp 5
- Sat 31 5 No · Kp 5
- Sun 1 5 No · 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
Sunday 18 October — No · Kp 2.7 · Forecast cloud: 100%. · 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 11:30 local time
Unlikely
Best around 18:00. Forecast max Kp 2.7 (this place needs 8.3), average cloud 100%.
- Dark enough
- 18:46 – 05:47
- Sunset
- 17:36 · sunrise 06:56
- Moon
- 38% · ↑ 14:03 · ↓ 21:32
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 8.3
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 6.7 (a red glow low in the north).
- Look towards
- north (2°)
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, 18 | Sat, 21 | Sun, 00 | Sun, 03 | Sun, 18 | Sun, 21 | Mon, 00 | Mon, 03 | Mon, 18 | Mon, 21 | Tue, 00 | Tue, 03 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low cloud | 61% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 76% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Mid cloud | 100% | 99% | 78% | 98% | 38% | 16% | 6% | 0% | 35% | 95% | 100% | 91% |
| High cloud | 82% | 82% | 85% | 37% | 67% | 0% | 91% | 0% | 11% | 8% | 70% | 0% |
| Temperature | 8 °C | 8 °C | 8 °C | 7 °C | 10 °C | 10 °C | 9 °C | 8 °C | 8 °C | 7 °C | 6 °C | 6 °C |
| Feels like | 7 °C | 7 °C | 8 °C | 6 °C | 10 °C | 8 °C | 7 °C | 6 °C | 6 °C | 5 °C | 4 °C | 4 °C |
| Wind | 1 m/s | 2 m/s | 1 m/s | 2 m/s | 3 m/s | 4 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 4 m/s | 4 m/s | 3 m/s | 2 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
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What you would see from Sanok
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 | -5° | -3° | 1,890 km |
| 3 | Below the horizon | -4° | -1° | 1,668 km |
| 4 | Below the horizon | -2° | 1° | 1,446 km |
| 5 | Below the horizon | -1° | 4° | 1,223 km |
| 6 | Below the horizon | 1° | 7° | 1,001 km |
| 7 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 4° | 11° | 778 km |
| 8 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 8° | 17° | 556 km |
| 9 | Visible to the north | 16° | 29° | 334 km |
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) 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) camera in Sanok Most of the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Czechia; red glow in photos from France and the northern Alps.
- Kp 8 Severe storm (G4) eye in Sanok 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
Bright suburban sky. Strong sky glow washes out faint aurora. Head out of town for anything but a bright display.
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 Sanok
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
Activity of Kp 8.3 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% | 59% | 9.0 h | 10° / 21°C |
| October | 0.2% | 49% | 10.8 h | 5° / 14°C |
| November | 0% | 29% | 12.4 h | 1° / 8°C |
| December | 0% | 18% | 13.1 h | -3° / 2°C |
| January | 0% | 19% | 12.8 h | -6° / 0°C |
| February | 0% | 20% | 11.4 h | -5° / 2°C |
| March | 0% | 38% | 9.6 h | -1° / 8°C |
| April | 0% | 53% | 7.8 h | 4° / 14°C |
Aurora nights in Sanok since 1995
Nights when Kp reached 8.3 or more while it was dark here.
Most recent strong nights
- 19 January 2026 · Kp 8.7
- 11 November 2025 · Kp 8.7
- 10 October 2024 · Kp 8.7
- 10 May 2024 · Kp 9.0
- 23 April 2023 · Kp 8.3
- 14 December 2006 · Kp 8.3
- 9 November 2004 · Kp 8.7
- 7 November 2004 · Kp 8.7
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport (RZE) · 63 km
- Typical low / high in May
- 8° / 19°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 Sanok?
Only severe geomagnetic storms (Kp 8.3 or more) bring the aurora into view from Sanok — a few nights per solar cycle, low in the north.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Sanok?
Face north (about 2° from true north). At Kp 8.3 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 16° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
When is the aurora season in Sanok?
Sanok 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 Sanok?
Strong sky glow washes out faint aurora. Head out of town for anything but a bright display.
When was the aurora last possible in Sanok?
The most recent night in our data when activity reached the level Sanok needs, during darkness, was 19 January 2026 (Kp 8.7). It has happened on 19 nights since 1995.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Sanok share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Posada Olchowska 1 km
- Olchowce 2 km
- Dąbrówka Polska 2 km
- Stróże Wielkie 3 km
- Stróże Małe 3 km
- Dąbrówka Ruska 3 km
- Zahutyń 4 km
- Trepcza 4 km
- Liszna 4 km
- Zabłotce 4 km
- Srogów Dolny 5 km
- Sanoczek 5 km
- Międzybrodzie 5 km
- Czerteż 5 km
- Bykowce 5 km
- Sanok 5 km
- Wujskie 6 km
- Prusiek 6 km
- Dębna 6 km
- Niebieszczany 7 km
- Markowce 7 km
- Kostarowce 7 km
- Jurowce 7 km
- Zboiska 8 km
- Tyrawa Solna 8 km
- Ratnawica 8 km
- Pobiedno 8 km
- Pisarowce 8 km
- Mrzygłód 8 km
- Siemuszowa 9 km
- Raczkowa 9 km
- Falejówka 9 km
- Wolica 10 km
- Strachocina 10 km
- Pakoszówka 10 km
- Nowosielce-Gniewosz 10 km
- Morochów 10 km
- Hołuczków 10 km
- Hłomcza 10 km
- Dudyńce 10 km