Västra Götaland County, SwedenMagnetic latitude 55.3°Population 1,29211 m above sea level
Northern lights in Smögen
Smögen needs an active night: from about Kp 3.7 the aurora appears low over the north horizon, and it rises higher as activity grows. Since 1995 storms of Kp 4.7 or more reached this place during darkness on 929 nights.
Right now
Activity is high enough here right now, but the sky is overcast (100 % cloud). Watch for gaps in the clouds and look north.
Updates every minute while this page is open.
Tonight in one minute
Not tonight
- Solar activity Strong enough: Kp 3.7 expected, 3.7 needed here.
- Sky Overcast (100% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 19:18 to 06:41. A bright moon (82%) washes out faint displays.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
Sunday 1 November — Possible · Kp 5 · best around 23:30 · No cloud forecast this far ahead; in November about 22% of nights are clear here. · Reliability: low (rough trend)
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 06:01 local time
Unlikely
Best around 06:00. Forecast max Kp 3.7 (this place needs 3.7), average cloud 100%.
- Dark enough
- 19:18 – 06:41
- Sunset
- 17:51 · sunrise 08:09
- Moon
- 82% · ↑ 16:43 · ↓ 02:48
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 3.7
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 2 (a red glow low in the north).
- Look towards
- north (358°)
Cloud layers and weather
Low cloud blocks the aurora completely. Thin high cloud often still lets a bright aurora shine through, so a sky with only high cloud is worth a look.
| Time | Thu, 06 | Thu, 21 | Fri, 00 | Fri, 03 | Fri, 06 | Fri, 21 | Sat, 00 | Sat, 03 | Sat, 06 | Sat, 21 | Sun, 00 | Sun, 02 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low cloud | 53% | 28% | 42% | 50% | 46% | 11% | 64% | 84% | 48% | 39% | 31% | 43% |
| Mid cloud | 84% | 100% | 100% | 89% | 34% | 7% | 42% | 60% | 51% | 11% | 69% | 100% |
| High cloud | 100% | 100% | 100% | 88% | 30% | 39% | 45% | 49% | 53% | 13% | 78% | 94% |
| Temperature | 12 °C | 11 °C | 10 °C | 10 °C | 9 °C | 8 °C | 8 °C | 9 °C | 9 °C | 10 °C | 11 °C | 11 °C |
| Feels like | 12 °C | 11 °C | 10 °C | 8 °C | 8 °C | 6 °C | 6 °C | 6 °C | 7 °C | 8 °C | 11 °C | 11 °C |
| Wind | 7 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 2 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 4 m/s | 4 m/s | 5 m/s | 6 m/s | 8 m/s |
Cloud layers and weather: Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0).
Score = activity (NOAA Kp and OVATION) × clear sky (MET Norway) × darkness × moonlight. Methodology
Weather in Smögen
The aurora only shows through clear skies, so the weather matters as much as the Kp index. Here is the general forecast for Smögen: temperature, wind and the chance of rain for the coming days.
Planning further ahead? See the hour-by-hour weather forecast for Smögen on Atlas of Seasons.
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What you would see from Smögen
Facing north. Bands show where the aurora sits at two activity levels.
| Kp | What you see | Lower edge | Ray tops | Distance to the aurora |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 4° | 10° | 801 km |
| 3 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 8° | 16° | 578 km |
| 4 | Visible to the north | 15° | 27° | 356 km |
| 5 | Visible to the north | 37° | 55° | 133 km |
| 6 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 7 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 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 camera in Smögen Only under the auroral oval: northern Norway, Swedish and Finnish Lapland, Iceland, Alaska, northern Canada.
- Kp 3 Unsettled Bright in the Arctic; low on the horizon in central Scandinavia and southern Iceland.
- Kp 4 Active next 24 h eye in Smögen 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
Terrain is not modelled for this place.
From elevation data (AWS Terrain Tiles) along seven lines of sight up to 30 km.
Best months to see the aurora in Smögen
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
April has been the best month (9% of nights), followed by September (9%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 9% | 48% | 7.9 h | 13° / 16°C |
| October | 7% | 37% | 10.8 h | 9° / 12°C |
| November | 4% | 22% | 12.8 h | 6° / 8°C |
| December | 4% | 16% | 14.0 h | 2° / 5°C |
| January | 2% | 13% | 13.3 h | 1° / 3°C |
| February | 4% | 12% | 11.5 h | 0° / 2°C |
| March | 7% | 32% | 9.1 h | 1° / 4°C |
| April | 9% | 54% | 6.0 h | 5° / 8°C |
Darkness through the year
- No full darkness (Sun 12° below the horizon) from 16 May to 27 July — the sky stays too bright for most auroras.
- Next new moon 9 November, next full moon 26 October. The darkest skies are in the week around new moon.
Aurora nights in Smögen 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
- 15 May 2026 · Kp 6.0
- 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
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Trollhättan-Vänersborg Airport (THN) · 66 km
Göteborg Landvetter Airport (GOT) · 99 km - Typical low / high in April
- 5° / 8°C
- What to wear
- Cool nights: layers, a windproof jacket, hat and gloves for standing still outside. 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 Smögen?
Smögen needs an active night: from about Kp 3.7 the aurora appears low over the north horizon, and it rises higher as activity grows.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Smögen?
Face north (about 358° from true north). At Kp 3.7 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 15° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
What is the best month to see the aurora in Smögen?
Over 2005–2025, April gave the best odds in Smögen (9% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by September (9%).
When is the aurora season in Smögen?
From 16 May to 27 July the sky in Smögen never gets dark enough. Outside that period the aurora can be seen whenever activity and clouds allow.
Is there much light pollution in Smögen?
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 Smögen?
Activity last reached storm level (Kp 5 or more) during darkness in Smögen on 10 October 2026 (Kp 7.0) — 929 such nights since 1995. Here the aurora also appears on many quieter nights.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Smögen share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Hasselösund 1 km
- Rosendal 1 km