Scotland, United KingdomMagnetic latitude 53.1°Population 5,04046 m above sea level

Northern lights in Polmont

Polmont needs an active night: from about Kp 4.7 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 985 nights.

Right now

It is still light here. Darkness starts at 19:29.

Kp 0.3 · 443 km/s · Bz 0.5

Latest measured half-hour activity worldwide: Hp30 0.3.

Updates every minute while this page is open. Ground data: GFZ Potsdam Hp30 index (CC BY 4.0).

Tonight in one minute

Not tonight

Solar activity Too weak: Kp 2.7 expected, 4.7 needed here.
Sky Mostly clear (8% cloud).
Darkness Dark from 19:29 to 06:31.

What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.

Your next chance

Friday 30 October, around 23:00

Possible · Kp 5 is expected — here Kp 4.7 is enough to see it by eye. No cloud forecast this far ahead; in October about 26% of nights are clear here. The moon will be 71% full.

Reliability: low (rough trend) Find a dark spot with an open view to the north.

Good chance Possible Photos only No

Detailed forecast Sat 17 2.7 No · Kp 2.7
Sun 18 1.7 No · Kp 1.7
Mon 19 2 No · Kp 2
27-day trend Tue 20 3 Unlikely · Kp 3
Wed 21 4 Photos only · Kp 4
Thu 22 4 Unlikely · Kp 4
Fri 23 4 Photos only · Kp 4
Sat 24 3 Unlikely · Kp 3
Sun 25 2 No · Kp 2
Mon 26 2 No · Kp 2
Tue 27 2 No · Kp 2
Wed 28 2 No · Kp 2
Thu 29 2 No · Kp 2
Fri 30 5 Possible · Kp 5
Sat 31 5 Possible · Kp 5
Sun 1 5 Possible · Kp 5
Mon 2 3 Unlikely · Kp 3
Tue 3 2 No · Kp 2
Wed 4 2 No · Kp 2
Thu 5 3 Unlikely · Kp 3
Fri 6 3 Unlikely · Kp 3
Sat 7 3 Unlikely · Kp 3

Friday 30 October — Possible · Kp 5 · best around 23:00 · No cloud forecast this far ahead; in October about 26% 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 15:09 local time

4/100

Unlikely

Best around 22:00. Forecast max Kp 2.7 (this place needs 4.7), average cloud 8%.

Dark enough: 19:29 – 06:31
Sunset: 18:09 · sunrise 07:52
Moon: 40% · ↑ 15:38 · ↓ 21:33
Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.: Kp 4.7
Kp for photos: In photos: from Kp 3 (a red glow low in the north).
Look towards: north (354°)

Sun 18 Oct1Kp 1.7 · cloud 45%

Mon 19 Oct0Kp 2.0 · cloud 95%

Chance (0–100) Dark enough Cloud cover

Cloud layers and weather

Low cloudMid cloudHigh cloud Dark enough

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.

Dark hours
Time	Sat, 19	Sat, 22	Sun, 01	Sun, 04	Sun, 19	Sun, 22	Mon, 01	Mon, 04	Mon, 19	Mon, 22	Tue, 01	Tue, 04
Low cloud	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	52%	0%	45%	2%	3%	6%
Mid cloud	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%
High cloud	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%
Temperature	5 °C	3 °C	2 °C	0 °C	6 °C	3 °C	3 °C	0 °C	11 °C	10 °C	9 °C	6 °C
Feels like	2 °C	1 °C	-1 °C	-3 °C	3 °C	1 °C	1 °C	-2 °C	9 °C	9 °C	7 °C	5 °C
Wind	2 m/s	1 m/s	1 m/s	0 m/s	2 m/s	1 m/s	0 m/s	1 m/s	3 m/s	3 m/s	2 m/s	2 m/s
Visibility	15 km	13 km	10 km	13 km	7.3 km	5.1 km	11 km	5.1 km	18 km	18 km	17 km	14 km

Cloud layers and weather: Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0).

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.

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Live webcams near Polmont

Check the sky for yourself: public cameras within 300 km. They open on the camera owner's website.

Fort William (opens in a new tab) Scenic 126 km NW by SkylineWebcams
Stornoway, Isle of Lewis (opens in a new tab) Scenic 295 km NNW by SkylineWebcams

These cameras belong to their owners — we only link to them. Most show little in daylight or under cloud, and some pause in summer.

Embed this forecast

Show a live northern lights box for Polmont on your own website or blog. Copy this code into your page. It updates itself every 10 minutes, uses no cookies and does not track your visitors.

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Preview

What you would see from Polmont

Facing north. Bands show where the aurora sits at two activity levels.

Computed from the auroral oval position for each Kp level (lower border ~105 km, ray tops ~200 km up). Horizon from elevation data out to 30 km.

Angles above the horizon. Terrain in the look direction is taken into account where modelled.
Kp	What you see	Lower edge	Ray tops	Distance to the aurora
2	Below the horizon	1°	6°	1,045 km
3	Faint glow, mostly on camera	4°	10°	823 km
4	Faint glow, mostly on camera	7°	15°	600 km
5	Visible to the north	14°	26°	378 km
6	Visible to the north	33°	51°	156 km
7	Overhead and all around	–	–	–
8	Overhead and all around	–	–	–
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 Only under the auroral oval: northern Norway, Swedish and Finnish Lapland, Iceland, Alaska, northern Canada.
Kp 3 Unsettled next 24 h camera in Polmont 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) eye in Polmont 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

Bright suburban sky. Strong sky glow washes out faint aurora. Head out of town for anything but a bright display.

A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the south-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 horizon towards the north is open (terrain below 1.4°), 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 Polmont

Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.

September has been the best month (4% of nights), followed by October (3%).

All years Near solar maximum Near solar minimum

Good night = darkness + activity at this place's Kp level + night-time satellite cloud ≤ 70%. GFZ Kp, NASA POWER (CERES), 1° grid. Methodology
Month	Good nights	Clear nights	Darkness	Low / high
September	4%	38%	8.4 h	8° / 15°C
October	3%	26%	10.8 h	6° / 12°C
November	1%	21%	12.6 h	3° / 8°C
December	0.8%	16%	13.6 h	1° / 5°C
January	0.6%	15%	13.1 h	1° / 5°C
February	2%	21%	11.4 h	1° / 5°C
March	3%	25%	9.4 h	1° / 7°C
April	2%	35%	6.5 h	3° / 10°C

12%chance of ≥1 good night in 3 nights (September)

18%chance of ≥1 good night in 5 nights (September)

25%chance of ≥1 good night in 7 nights (September)

Darkness through the year

No full darkness (Sun 12° below the horizon) from 29 May to 15 July — the sky stays too bright for most auroras.
Moon calendar
Next new moon 9 November, next full moon 26 October. The darkest skies are in the week around new moon.

Aurora nights in Polmont since 1995

Nights when Kp reached 4.7 or more while it was dark here.

Per year, last 12 years. Cloud cover not included. Source: GFZ Kp.

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

Practical information

Nearest airport: Edinburgh Airport (EDI) · 21 km
Typical low / high in September: 8° / 15°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 Polmont?

Polmont needs an active night: from about Kp 4.7 the aurora appears low over the north horizon, and it rises higher as activity grows.

Which way should I look for the aurora in Polmont?

Face north (about 354° from true north). At Kp 4.7 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 14° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.

What is the best month to see the aurora in Polmont?

Over 2005–2025, September gave the best odds in Polmont (4% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by October (3%).

When is the aurora season in Polmont?

From 29 May to 15 July the sky in Polmont never gets dark enough. Outside that period the aurora can be seen whenever activity and clouds allow.

Is there much light pollution in Polmont?

Strong sky glow washes out faint aurora. Head out of town for anything but a bright display. A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the south-south-west.

When was the aurora last possible in Polmont?

The most recent night in our data when activity reached the level Polmont needs, during darkness, was 10 October 2026 (Kp 7.0). It has happened on 985 nights since 1995.

Also covered by this forecast

Villages and districts around Polmont share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.

Old Polmont 1 km

Nearby places

All places in Scotland

Kp 4.7