G1Peak 20 April 1990 at 18:00 UTC

Northern Lights on 20 April 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 6 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

926 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	259	Montreal, Calgary, Ottawa, Edmonton	Saanich
United States	155	Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Spokane, Fargo	Billings
Sweden	144	Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö, Uppsala	Oxie
Finland	122	Helsinki, Espoon keskus, Tampere urban area, Vantaa	Raseborg
Norway	71	Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim, Stavanger	Mandal
Denmark	41	Copenhagen, Aalborg, Frederiksberg, Hvidovre	Køge
Latvia	39	Riga, Daugavpils, Liepāja, Jelgava	Daugavpils
United Kingdom	24	Aberdeen, Dundee, Inverness, Perth	St Andrews
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
Australia	5	Hobart, Launceston, Bruny Island (Alonnah), Southport / Cockle Creek	Launceston
Greenland	5	Nuuk, Sisimiut, Qaqortoq, Aasiaat	Qaqortoq
Faroe Islands	4	Tórshavn, Klaksvík, Fuglafjørður, Miðvágur	Tórshavn

Only in photos

1,627 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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