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Northern Lights in Spain: Where and When to See Them

From Spain the aurora is mostly a camera sight: in severe storms (about Kp 7 or more) a red glow rises low over the horizon, as it did in May and October 2024.

Where the aurora is easiest to see

PlaceRegionKp neededKp for photosMagnetic latitude
GijónAsturias9+738.0°
A CoruñaGalicia9+737.9°
Santander CityCantabria9+737.9°
Bilbao CityBasque Country9+7.337.6°
Oviedo CityAsturias9+7.337.8°
Donostia-San SebastiánBasque Country9+7.337.7°
BarakaldoBasque Country9+7.337.7°
Santiago de CompostelaGalicia9+7.337.3°

Largest cities

PlacePopulationKp needed
Madrid city3,255,9449+
Barcelona1,686,2089+
Zaragoza686,9869+
Bilbao City347,3429+
Valladolid city300,6189+
Vigo City293,6429+
Gijón271,7809+
Vitoria-Gasteiz City257,4079+

Storm watch: can you see the northern lights from Spain?

Rarely, but yes. In strong storms (about Kp 7 or more) the red upper layer of the aurora, 300–400 km up, rises above the northern horizon of Spain. Phone and camera sensors pick it up far more easily than the eye.

…

PlaceKp for photosKp for the eyePhoto nights since 1995Last time
Gijón 7 9+ 76 Oct 2026
A Coruña 7 9+ 76 Oct 2026
Santander City 7 9+ 74 Oct 2026
Bilbao City 7.3 9+ 54 Jan 2026
Oviedo City 7.3 9+ 54 Jan 2026
Donostia-San Sebastián 7.3 9+ 54 Jan 2026
Barakaldo 7.3 9+ 54 Jan 2026
Santiago de Compostela 7.3 9+ 55 Jan 2026
Vitoria-Gasteiz City 7.7 9+ 35 Jan 2026
Pamplona city 7.7 9+ 35 Jan 2026
Logroño 7.7 9+ 35 Jan 2026
León 7.7 9+ 35 Jan 2026

When it was last seen from Spain

Nights with enough activity for photos from Gijón during darkness (Kp 7 or more):

  • 10 October 2026 · Kp 7.0
  • 20 March 2026 · Kp 7.0
  • 20 January 2026 · Kp 7.7
  • 19 January 2026 · Kp 8.7
  • 12 November 2025 · Kp 7.3
  • 11 November 2025 · Kp 8.7
  • 29 September 2025 · Kp 7.0
  • 10 October 2024 · Kp 8.7
  • 7 October 2024 · Kp 7.0
  • 16 September 2024 · Kp 7.3

How to catch it from Spain

  1. Watch the forecast: you need about Kp 7 or more — a strong to severe storm. These arrive a day or two after a big eruption on the Sun, so there is usually some warning.
  2. Get away from city lights and find an open view to the north: a coast, a hill or a field. The glow sits low over the horizon.
  3. Use your phone's night mode or a camera on a tripod (3–15 s). Check the photo: a red or pink sky to the north is the aurora.
  4. The best hours are usually 22:00–02:00 local time, but in big storms it can start right after dusk.
  1. Kp 0–2 Quiet Only under the auroral oval: northern Norway, Swedish and Finnish Lapland, Iceland, Alaska, northern Canada.
  2. Kp 3 Unsettled Bright in the Arctic; low on the horizon in central Scandinavia and southern Iceland.
  3. Kp 4 Active Overhead in the Arctic; low in the north from southern Norway, Sweden, Finland and northern Scotland.
  4. Kp 5 Minor storm (G1) Scotland, southern Scandinavia, the Baltic states, the northern US states and southern Canada.
  5. Kp 6 Moderate storm (G2) Northern England, Denmark, northern Germany and Poland, the US Midwest — often clearer in photos than to the eye.
  6. Kp 7 Strong storm (G3) camera in Gijón Most of the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Czechia; red glow in photos from France and the northern Alps.
  7. 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.
  8. 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).

Live sightings

Where visitors are reporting the aurora right now. A place climbs with every report and drops again as the reports age.

  1. …

    Regions of Spain