Scotland, United KingdomMagnetic latitude 54.9°Population 47,79015 m above sea level
Northern lights in Inverness
Inverness 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 that level (Kp 4.7) was reached during darkness here on 933 nights.
Right now
It is still light here. Darkness starts at 19:34.
Updates every minute while this page is open.
Tonight in one minute
Only in photos, if at all
- Solar activity Enough for a camera: Kp 2.7 expected, 2 needed for photos, 3.7 for the eye.
- Sky Partly cloudy (60% cloud) — look for gaps.
- Darkness Dark from 19:34 to 06:31.
What to do: Point a phone in night mode north (3–10 s exposure). A red or green glow often shows on the screen before you can see it.
- Detailed forecast Fri 16 2.7 Unlikely · Kp 2.7
- Sat 17 1.7 No · Kp 1.7
- Sun 18 1.7 No · Kp 1.7
- 27-day trend Mon 19 2 Unlikely · Kp 2
- Tue 20 3 Unlikely · Kp 3
- Wed 21 4 Possible · Kp 4
- Thu 22 4 Possible · Kp 4
- Fri 23 4 Possible · Kp 4
- Sat 24 3 Photos only · Kp 3
- Sun 25 2 Unlikely · Kp 2
- Mon 26 2 Photos only · Kp 2
- Tue 27 2 Photos only · Kp 2
- Wed 28 2 Photos only · Kp 2
- Thu 29 2 Photos only · 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 Photos only · Kp 3
- Tue 3 2 Photos only · Kp 2
- Wed 4 2 Photos only · Kp 2
- Thu 5 3 Photos only · Kp 3
- Fri 6 3 Photos only · Kp 3
- Sat 7 3 Photos only · Kp 3
Friday 23 October — Possible · Kp 4 · best around 00:30 · Forecast cloud: 77%. · 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 14:45 local time
Possible
Best around 00:00. Forecast max Kp 2.7 (this place needs 3.7), average cloud 60%.
- Dark enough
- 19:34 – 06:31
- Sunset
- 18:10 · sunrise 07:55
- Moon
- 31% · ↑ 15:23 · ↓ 20:07
- 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 (354°)
Clearer skies nearby tonight
Forecast cloud during tonight's darkness: 60% here. The clearest option within 100 km is about 100 km to the south-west, near Fort William, with 15%. Open in OpenStreetMap
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 Scotland. 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 Inverness
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 | 3° | 9° | 845 km |
| 3 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 7° | 15° | 623 km |
| 4 | Visible to the north | 13° | 24° | 400 km |
| 5 | Visible to the north | 30° | 47° | 178 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 Inverness 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 eye in Inverness 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
Suburban sky. Noticeable sky glow. Bright displays are visible, but driving out of town makes a clear difference.
A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the north-west. Open in OpenStreetMap
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 1.9°), 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 Inverness
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
September has been the best month (10% of nights), followed by March (9%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 10% | 41% | 8.3 h | 7° / 12°C |
| October | 9% | 41% | 10.8 h | 4° / 9°C |
| November | 8% | 38% | 12.8 h | 1° / 5°C |
| December | 7% | 31% | 13.6 h | -1° / 3°C |
| January | 3% | 25% | 13.3 h | -2° / 2°C |
| February | 7% | 26% | 11.5 h | -2° / 2°C |
| March | 9% | 32% | 9.1 h | -1° / 4°C |
| April | 8% | 44% | 6.0 h | 1° / 7°C |
Darkness through the year
- No full darkness (Sun 12° below the horizon) from 20 May to 23 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 Inverness 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
- 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 Inverness
-
Clava Cairns
Bronze Age burial cairns east of the city, free and open all year. · about 11 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Chanonry Point (Black Isle)
Spit with a lighthouse reaching into the Moray Firth on the Black Isle, with open sea horizons. · about 22 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Nairn Beach
Moray Firth beach far enough from Inverness's lights for a good northward view. · about 27 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Dores Beach (Loch Ness)
Pebble beach at the north end of Loch Ness with free parking and long views down the loch. · about 14 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
Local knowledge
- The aurora can occasionally be seen from Inverness itself, but the brightest glow nearby is often the city's own lights.
- Loch Ness, Clava Cairns and the Black Isle are common nearby escapes from city light.
- The Highlands aurora season runs roughly September to April.
- Use AuroraWatch UK or SpaceWeatherLive for real-time alerts, and confirm clear skies first.
- A smartphone night or long-exposure mode often reveals colour the naked eye cannot see.
Parking at Chanonry Point is limited and the lighthouse grounds are private.
Loch Ness is very deep and cold; keep away from the water's edge at night.
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Inverness Airport (INV) · 13 km
- Typical low / high in September
- 7° / 12°C
- What to wear
- Cool nights: layers, a windproof jacket, hat and gloves for standing still outside. Full clothing guide
- Emergency number
- 999 / 112
- Winter driving
- Winter tyres are not legally required anywhere in the UK (minimum tread 1.6 mm); check Traffic Scotland (trafficscotland.org) for Scottish trunk roads and National Highways for England's motorways and major A-roads. Road conditions
- Access to land
- In Scotland the Scottish Outdoor Access Code gives access rights over most land and inland water at any time of day or night (including responsible wild camping), provided you act responsibly and keep away from buildings; in England and Wales the CRoW Act right of access covers only mapped open access land, on foot, and excludes camping and driving unless the landowner allows it.
- Official space-weather service
- Met Office Space Weather (incl. aurora forecast)
- Weather service
- Met Office
Questions and answers
What Kp do you need to see the aurora in Inverness?
Inverness 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 Inverness?
Face north (about 354° from true north). At Kp 3.7 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 13° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
What is the best month to see the aurora in Inverness?
Over 2005–2025, September gave the best odds in Inverness (10% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by March (9%).
When is the aurora season in Inverness?
From 20 May to 23 July the sky in Inverness never gets dark enough. Outside that period the aurora can be seen whenever activity and clouds allow.
Is there much light pollution in Inverness?
Noticeable sky glow. Bright displays are visible, but driving out of town makes a clear difference. A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the north-west.
When was the aurora last possible in Inverness?
Activity last reached storm level (Kp 5 or more) during darkness in Inverness on 10 October 2026 (Kp 7.0) — 933 such nights since 1995. Here the aurora also appears on many quieter nights.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Inverness share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Crown 0 km
- Glebe 0 km
- Highland 1 km
- Ballifeary 1 km
- Haugh 1 km
- Millburn 1 km
- Citadel 1 km
- Dalneigh 1 km
- Merkinch 1 km
- South Kessock 2 km
- Inshes 2 km
- Iverness 2 km
- Raigmore 2 km
- Hilton 2 km
- Upper Drummond 2 km
- Lower Drummond 2 km
- Culcabock 2 km
- Kinmylies 2 km
- Scorguie 2 km
- Clachnaharry 2 km
- North Kessock 3 km
- Kessock 3 km
- Craig Dunain 3 km
- Lochardil 3 km
- Craigton 3 km
- Bunchrew 5 km
- Croftnacriech 5 km
- Kilmuir 6 km
- Englishton Muir 6 km
- Craigrory 6 km
- Bogallan 6 km
- Scaniport 6 km
- Knockbain 7 km
- Arpafeelie 7 km
- Munlochy 8 km
- Lentran 8 km
- Kirkton 9 km
- Belmaduthy 10 km
- Lochend 12 km
- Dunlichity 12 km