G1Peak 23 February 1990 at 00:00 UTC

Northern Lights on 23 February 1990 (Kp 5): Where They Were Visible

Kp reached 5. At that level the edge of the auroral oval reaches about 56.5° magnetic latitude, so the aurora could be seen low on the horizon down to roughly 52.0°. Activity stayed at storm level (Kp 5 or more) for 9 hours.

Kp 0–3 Kp 4 Kp 5–6 (G1–G2) Kp 7+ (G3+) Times in UTC; faded bars are forecasts.

Three-hourly Kp from GFZ, one day either side of the storm.

Where the aurora could be seen

1,180 towns on our list had enough activity while it was dark there. Cloud cover is not included.

Based on each place's Kp threshold (terrain included) and the Sun's position during each 3-hour Kp block.
Country	Places	Examples	Furthest from the pole
Canada	294	Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, Ottawa	Hamilton
United States	255	Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Anchorage	Racine
Sweden	145	Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö, Uppsala	Oxie
Finland	123	Helsinki, Espoon keskus, Tampere urban area, Vantaa	Raseborg
United Kingdom	103	Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Dundee	Ashington
Norway	77	Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim, Stavanger	Mandal
Denmark	75	Copenhagen, Aarhus, Aalborg, Frederiksberg	Esbjerg
Latvia	39	Riga, Daugavpils, Liepāja, Jelgava	Daugavpils
Estonia	21	Tallinn, Tartu, Narva, Pärnu	Võru
Iceland	18	Reykjavík, Kópavogur, Hafnarfjörður, Reykjanesbær	Vík í Mýrdal
Lithuania	18	Klaipeda City Municipality, Šiauliai, Panevėžys, Mažeikiai	Utena
Greenland	6	Nuuk, Sisimiut, Ilulissat, Qaqortoq	Qaqortoq
Faroe Islands	4	Tórshavn, Klaksvík, Fuglafjørður, Miðvágur	Tórshavn
Ireland	1	Letterkenny	Letterkenny
Svalbard & Jan Mayen	1	Longyearbyen	Longyearbyen

Only in photos

1,709 more towns could have caught a faint red or green glow low on the horizon with a phone or camera.

Whether the aurora was actually seen also depended on the weather. Use this as a guide to where it was possible.

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