G1Peak 20 March 1996 at 18:00 UTC

Northern Lights on 20 March 1996 (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

989 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	220	Montreal, Calgary, Ottawa, Edmonton	Le Sud-Ouest
Sweden	145	Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö, Uppsala	Oxie
United States	137	Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Fargo, Green Bay	Manitowoc
Finland	123	Helsinki, Espoon keskus, Tampere urban area, Vantaa	Raseborg
United Kingdom	100	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
Australia	5	Hobart, Launceston, Bruny Island (Alonnah), Southport / Cockle Creek	Launceston
Faroe Islands	4	Tórshavn, Klaksvík, Fuglafjørður, Miðvágur	Tórshavn
Svalbard & Jan Mayen	1	Longyearbyen	Longyearbyen

Only in photos

1,677 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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