Norrbotten County, SwedenMagnetic latitude 64.0°Population 2,794251 m above sea level
Northern lights in Jokkmokk
From Jokkmokk the aurora can show up on almost any clear, dark night — low to the north when activity is quiet, higher and overhead when it picks up. Since 1995 that level (Kp 4.7) was reached during darkness here on 782 nights.
Right now
It is still light here. Darkness starts at 19:03.
Updates every minute while this page is open.
Tonight in one minute
Yes — good chance tonight
- Solar activity Strong enough: Kp 2.7 expected, 0 needed here.
- Sky Mostly clear (2% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 19:03 to 05:50.
What to do: Go somewhere dark around 00:00, give your eyes 15 minutes to adjust and look north, low over the horizon.
- Detailed forecast Fri 16 2.7 Good chance · Kp 2.7
- Sat 17 1.7 Good chance · Kp 1.7
- Sun 18 1.7 Good chance · Kp 1.7
- 27-day trend Mon 19 2 Possible · Kp 2
- Tue 20 3 Good chance · Kp 3
- Wed 21 4 Possible · Kp 4
- Thu 22 4 Possible · Kp 4
- Fri 23 4 Possible · Kp 4
- Sat 24 3 Possible · Kp 3
- Sun 25 2 Possible · Kp 2
- Mon 26 2 Possible · Kp 2
- Tue 27 2 Possible · Kp 2
- Wed 28 2 Possible · Kp 2
- Thu 29 2 Good chance · Kp 2
- Fri 30 5 Good chance · Kp 5
- Sat 31 5 Good chance · Kp 5
- Sun 1 5 Good chance · Kp 5
- Mon 2 3 Good chance · Kp 3
- Tue 3 2 Good chance · Kp 2
- Wed 4 2 Good chance · Kp 2
- Thu 5 3 Good chance · Kp 3
- Fri 6 3 Good chance · Kp 3
- Sat 7 3 Good chance · Kp 3
Saturday 17 October — Good chance · Kp 2.7 · best around 00:30 · Forecast cloud: 3%. · Reliability: good
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 15:43 local time
Excellent chance
Best around 00:00. Forecast max Kp 2.7 (this place needs 0), average cloud 2%.
- Dark enough
- 19:03 – 05:50
- Sunset
- 17:08 · sunrise 07:45
- Moon
- 31%
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 0
- Look towards
- north (354°)
Clearer skies nearby tonight
Tonight's cloud forecast is similar in every direction within 100 km (3% here), so driving is unlikely to help.
MET Norway forecast at 24 points within 100 km, averaged over the dark hours. Check roads and conditions before driving.
Score = activity (NOAA Kp and OVATION) × clear sky (MET Norway) × darkness × moonlight. Methodology
Seeing it right now?
Tell others in Norrbotten County. Reports from real visitors move a place up the live ranking.
Reports are anonymous: we do not store your IP address or location. One report per place every few hours.
What you would see from Jokkmokk
Facing north. Bands show where the aurora sits at two activity levels.
| Kp | What you see | Lower edge | Ray tops | Distance to the aurora |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Visible to the north | 19° | 34° | 278 km |
| 2 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 3 | Overhead, and also to the south | – | – | – |
| 4 | Overhead, and also to the south | – | – | – |
| 5 | Overhead, and also to the south | – | – | – |
| 6 | Overhead, and also to the south | – | – | – |
| 7 | Overhead, and also to the south | – | – | – |
| 8 | Overhead, and also to the south | – | – | – |
| 9 | Overhead, and also to the south | – | – | – |
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 eye in Jokkmokk 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) Most of the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Czechia; red glow in photos from France and the northern Alps.
- 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.
- 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
Rural to suburban. Some sky glow from nearby lights. Moderate displays are fine; faint ones are easier a few kilometres out.
Estimate from NASA VIIRS night-light data (sky-glow model within 50 km). Check access and private land before you go.
Hills and mountains
The horizon towards the north is open (terrain below 0.7°), so low aurora is not blocked.
From elevation data (AWS Terrain Tiles) along seven lines of sight up to 30 km.
Best months to see the aurora in Jokkmokk
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
March has been the best month (46% of nights), followed by September (40%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 40% | 40% | 6.4 h | 4° / 10°C |
| October | 31% | 31% | 10.5 h | -3° / 2°C |
| November | 32% | 32% | 13.5 h | -10° / -5°C |
| December | 24% | 24% | 15.1 h | -13° / -8°C |
| January | 31% | 31% | 14.1 h | -15° / -10°C |
| February | 33% | 33% | 11.5 h | -15° / -9°C |
| March | 46% | 46% | 8.1 h | -12° / -4°C |
| April | 23% | 50% | 2.1 h | -6° / 0°C |
Darkness through the year
- No full darkness (Sun 12° below the horizon) from 19 April to 23 August — the sky stays too bright for most auroras.
- Midnight sun from 6 June to 6 July.
- Next new moon 9 November, next full moon 26 October. The darkest skies are in the week around new moon.
Aurora nights in Jokkmokk since 1995
Nights when Kp reached 4.7 or more while it was dark here.
Most recent strong nights
- 10 October 2026 · Kp 7.0
- 4 October 2026 · Kp 5.7
- 3 April 2026 · Kp 5.7
- 2 April 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 22 March 2026 · Kp 6.7
- 20 March 2026 · Kp 7.0
- 13 March 2026 · Kp 6.0
- 3 March 2026 · Kp 5.0
Where to watch near Jokkmokk
-
Storknabben
The municipality calls this hill a perfect place to see the northern lights, with views over Jokkmokk. Follow the road up from the eastern end of Lake Talvatis. · about 3 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Lake Talvatis
The frozen lake in the village centre has an open sky, though two of its ski tracks are lit. · about 1 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Arctic Circle rest area (E45)
The marked Arctic Circle stop south of the village is away from village lights. · about 8 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Porjus
A small village on the Lule River between Muddus and Stora Sjöfallet national parks, with very little light pollution. · about 45 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
Local knowledge
- Jokkmokk lies just north of the Arctic Circle, and a marked Arctic Circle rest area is about 8 km south along the E45 towards Kåbdalis.
- Jokkmokk's Winter Market has been held for more than 400 years. It always starts on the first Thursday of February and is one of northern Europe's largest winter festivals.
- Jokkmokk is often described as Sweden's coldest municipal seat in winter, and its record low is −46.0 °C.
- The municipality recommends Storknabben, a hill overlooking the village, as a good place to watch the northern lights.
- The nearest airport is Gällivare, about 100 km away by road, and Luleå Airport is about 175 km away.
- The Ájtte museum in the village covers Sámi culture and mountain nature.
The road up to Storknabben is not lit, so bring a headlamp, ideally one with a red-light setting.
Temperatures can drop extremely low, as the −46 °C record shows, so dress for severe cold and avoid long waits without shelter.
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Gällivare Airport (GEV) · 73 km
- Typical low / high in March
- -12° / -4°C
- What to wear
- Arctic cold: wool base layers, insulated jacket and trousers, warm boots, hat and mittens. Full clothing guide
- Emergency number
- 112
- Winter driving
- From 1 December to 31 March, cars must use winter tyres (Alpine-marked or studded) with at least 3 mm of tread whenever winter road conditions apply. Studded tyres are allowed from 1 October to 15 April, and at other times when winter conditions apply or are expected. Trafikverket runs the road traffic information service. Road conditions
- Access to land
- Allemansrätten lets anyone walk and stay temporarily on others' land, including pitching a tent for a night or two, provided you don't disturb and don't destroy. It does not cover gardens next to homes, crops or grazing land, or motorised off-road driving. National parks and nature reserves can have stricter rules.
- Official space-weather service
- Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF), Kiruna: all-sky camera and IRF Aurora Alert app
- Weather service
- SMHI (Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute)
Questions and answers
What Kp do you need to see the aurora in Jokkmokk?
From Jokkmokk the aurora can show up on almost any clear, dark night — low to the north when activity is quiet, higher and overhead when it picks up.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Jokkmokk?
Face north (about 354° from true north). At Kp 0 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 19° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
What is the best month to see the aurora in Jokkmokk?
Over 2005–2025, March gave the best odds in Jokkmokk (46% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by September (40%).
When is the aurora season in Jokkmokk?
From 19 April to 23 August the sky in Jokkmokk never gets dark enough. Outside that period the aurora can be seen whenever activity and clouds allow.
Is there much light pollution in Jokkmokk?
Some sky glow from nearby lights. Moderate displays are fine; faint ones are easier a few kilometres out.
When was the aurora last possible in Jokkmokk?
Activity last reached storm level (Kp 5 or more) during darkness in Jokkmokk on 10 October 2026 (Kp 7.0) — 782 such nights since 1995. Here the aurora also appears on many quieter nights.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Jokkmokk share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Haraudden 5 km
- Sasskam 6 km
- Vajkijaur 7 km
- Vaikijaur 7 km
- Mattisudden 8 km
- Smeds 8 km
- Juggijaur 11 km
- Forshällan 12 km
- Vajmat 13 km
- Purkijaur 13 km
- Framnäs 13 km
- Fatjas 15 km
- Klubbudden 15 km
- Tårrajaur 20 km
- Ligga 20 km
- Slakka 21 km
- Lenatorp 21 km
- Själlarim 22 km
- Näsberg 24 km
- Kerkejaure 24 km
- Messaure 25 km
- Kåskats 25 km
- Majtum 26 km
- Sarkavare 27 km
- Randijaur 29 km
- Juognajaur 29 km
- Nietsavare 30 km
- Nietsavare 30 km
- Stenträsk 30 km
- Piertinjaure 31 km
- Harsprånget 31 km
- Padjerim 33 km
- Kåpponis 34 km
- Urtimjaur 36 km
- Luvos 36 km
- Framnäs 36 km
- Nausta 37 km
- Kaptenskog 37 km
- Porjus 39 km