Scotland, United KingdomMagnetic latitude 54.9°Population 2,31015 m above sea level
Northern lights in Portree
Portree 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 934 nights.
Right now
It is still light here. Darkness starts at 19:42.
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 Mostly clear (37% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 19:42 to 06:38.
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 Photos only · 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 Photos only · Kp 2
- Tue 20 3 Photos only · Kp 3
- Wed 21 4 Possible · Kp 4
- Thu 22 4 Possible · Kp 4
- Fri 23 4 Possible · Kp 4
- Sat 24 3 Unlikely · 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: 76%. · 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 23:00. Forecast max Kp 2.7 (this place needs 3.7), average cloud 37%.
- Dark enough
- 19:42 – 06:38
- Sunset
- 18:18 · sunrise 08:03
- Moon
- 31% · ↑ 15:30 · ↓ 20:17
- 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
Tonight's cloud forecast is similar in every direction within 100 km (37% 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
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What you would see from Portree
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 Portree 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 Portree 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
Dark rural sky. Little artificial light. Faint displays are visible once your eyes have adapted.
A noticeably darker area starts about 10 km to the south-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 terrain rises to about 4° above the horizon towards the north. That hides low aurora: here you need about Kp 3.7 instead of Kp 3.7. A hilltop, shore or open field with a clear view to the north helps.
From elevation data (AWS Terrain Tiles) along seven lines of sight up to 30 km.
Best months to see the aurora in Portree
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
March has been the best month (10% of nights), followed by September (8%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 8% | 34% | 8.3 h | 11° / 14°C |
| October | 7% | 32% | 10.8 h | 9° / 12°C |
| November | 6% | 33% | 12.8 h | 7° / 9°C |
| December | 4% | 27% | 13.6 h | 5° / 8°C |
| January | 3% | 20% | 13.3 h | 5° / 7°C |
| February | 6% | 24% | 11.5 h | 4° / 7°C |
| March | 10% | 32% | 9.1 h | 5° / 8°C |
| April | 7% | 37% | 6.0 h | 6° / 9°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 Portree 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 July 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 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
Where to watch near Portree
-
Staffin Bay
North-facing bay on Trotternish with little light pollution, recommended by VisitScotland. · about 27 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Trumpan (Waternish)
Remote ruined church on the Waternish peninsula with open views north and west. · about 40 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Neist Point car park
Westernmost point of Skye with a lighthouse and very dark skies, listed as an aurora viewpoint. · about 56 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Broadford coast
Coastal Dark Sky Discovery Site near Broadford reachable from a lay-by off the A87. · about 42 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
Local knowledge
- Skye has nine Dark Sky Discovery Sites, including Kinloch Forest, the coast near Broadford and sites around Waternish and Armadale.
- VisitScotland highlights Trumpan, Staffin Bay and the Trotternish peninsula for aurora on Skye.
- Look for a spot with a clear, low northern horizon; north-facing coasts work best.
- The best months are October to March, usually between 21:00 and 02:00.
Most Skye roads beyond the A87 are single-track; use passing places and never park in them.
The path to Neist Point lighthouse is steep with unfenced cliff edges; do not attempt it in the dark without a head torch and care.
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Benbecula Airport (BEB) · 70 km
- Typical low / high in March
- 5° / 8°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 Portree?
Portree 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 Portree?
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 Portree?
Over 2005–2025, March gave the best odds in Portree (10% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by September (8%).
When is the aurora season in Portree?
From 20 May to 23 July the sky in Portree never gets dark enough. Outside that period the aurora can be seen whenever activity and clouds allow.
Is there much light pollution in Portree?
Little artificial light. Faint displays are visible once your eyes have adapted. A noticeably darker area starts about 10 km to the south-west.
When was the aurora last possible in Portree?
Activity last reached storm level (Kp 5 or more) during darkness in Portree on 10 October 2026 (Kp 7.0) — 934 such nights since 1995. Here the aurora also appears on many quieter nights.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Portree share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Achadh a'Choirce 2 km
- Toravaig 2 km
- Penifiler 2 km
- Heatherfield 2 km
- Peinmore 3 km
- Drumuie 4 km
- Glengrasco 4 km
- Glenmore 5 km
- Camastianavaig 5 km
- Borve 5 km
- Mugeary 6 km
- Uigshader 6 km
- Tole 8 km
- Skeabost 8 km
- Ollach 8 km
- Peinmore 8 km
- Gedintailor 9 km
- Glenbernisdale 9 km
- Annishader 9 km
- Keistle 9 km
- Brochel 10 km
- Arnish 10 km
- Clachan 10 km
- Rhenetra 10 km
- Bernisdale 11 km
- Inverarish 11 km
- Kensaleyre 11 km
- Peinachorrain 11 km
- Sconser 12 km
- Coillore 13 km
- North Fearns 13 km
- Eyre 14 km
- Drynoch 14 km
- Bracadale 14 km
- Suledale 14 km
- Clachamish 14 km
- Struan 15 km
- Kingsburgh 15 km
- Edinbain 15 km
- Black Hill 15 km