Scotland, United KingdomMagnetic latitude 57.8°Population 6,7609 m above sea level
Northern lights in Lerwick
From Lerwick the aurora is visible on most active nights — first low to the north, from about Kp 2.3.
Right now
It is still light here. Darkness starts at 19:23.
Updates every minute while this page is open.
Tonight in one minute
Yes — good chance tonight
- Solar activity Strong enough: Kp 2.7 expected, 2.3 needed here.
- Sky Mostly clear (34% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 19:23 to 06:18.
What to do: Go somewhere dark around 23:00, 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 Unlikely · Kp 1.7
- Sun 18 1.7 Unlikely · Kp 1.7
- 27-day trend Mon 19 2 Unlikely · Kp 2
- Tue 20 3 Possible · 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 Unlikely · Kp 2
- Mon 26 2 Unlikely · Kp 2
- Tue 27 2 Unlikely · Kp 2
- Wed 28 2 Unlikely · Kp 2
- Thu 29 2 Unlikely · Kp 2
- Fri 30 5 Possible · Kp 5
- Sat 31 5 Possible · Kp 5
- Sun 1 5 Possible · Kp 5
- Mon 2 3 Possible · Kp 3
- Tue 3 2 Unlikely · Kp 2
- Wed 4 2 Unlikely · Kp 2
- Thu 5 3 Possible · Kp 3
- Fri 6 3 Possible · Kp 3
- Sat 7 3 Possible · Kp 3
Friday 16 October — Good chance · Kp 2.7 · best around 23:30 · Forecast cloud: 34%. · 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 14:44 local time
Excellent chance
Best around 23:00. Forecast max Kp 2.7 (this place needs 2.3), average cloud 34%.
- Dark enough
- 19:23 – 06:18
- Sunset
- 17:52 · sunrise 07:49
- Moon
- 31% · ↑ 15:55 · ↓ 19:09
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 2.3
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 0.7 (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 (34% 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 Lerwick
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 | 9° | 18° | 523 km |
| 3 | Visible to the north | 18° | 32° | 300 km |
| 4 | Visible to the north | 53° | 68° | 78 km |
| 5 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 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 Lerwick camera in Lerwick 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 0.8°), 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 Lerwick
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
October has been the best month (13% of nights), followed by September (12%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 12% | 22% | 7.9 h | 12° / 13°C |
| October | 13% | 24% | 10.6 h | 10° / 11°C |
| November | 9% | 19% | 13.0 h | 8° / 9°C |
| December | 6% | 15% | 14.1 h | 7° / 8°C |
| January | 5% | 13% | 13.6 h | 6° / 7°C |
| February | 10% | 18% | 11.5 h | 5° / 7°C |
| March | 11% | 20% | 9.1 h | 5° / 7°C |
| April | 12% | 31% | 5.4 h | 6° / 8°C |
Darkness through the year
- No full darkness (Sun 12° below the horizon) from 10 May to 2 August — 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 Lerwick 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 Lerwick
-
Eshaness lighthouse
Remote volcanic sea cliffs in Northmavine, named by VisitScotland as a key Shetland aurora site. · about 58 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Bigton
Small South Mainland village where strong auroras have been photographed by Promote Shetland. · about 30 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
St Ninian's Isle tombolo
Sand tombolo beside Bigton on the Atlantic side of South Mainland with an open, dark horizon. · about 32 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
Local knowledge
- In Shetland dialect the northern lights are called the 'Mirrie Dancers'.
- Shetland is the most northerly part of the UK, making it one of Britain's best places for aurora.
- October to March gives the darkest nights; find a site with a clear view to the north.
- The Shetland Aurora Hunter Facebook group and aurora alert apps help you react quickly to activity.
- Promote Shetland advises against booking a trip solely to see the lights, as sightings are never guaranteed.
The cliffs at Eshaness are unfenced and exposed to huge waves; keep well back from the edges in the dark.
Many Shetland roads are single-track; use passing places and never park in them.
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Lerwick / Tingwall Airport (LWK) · 7 km
- Typical low / high in October
- 10° / 11°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 Lerwick?
From Lerwick the aurora is visible on most active nights — first low to the north, from about Kp 2.3.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Lerwick?
Face north (about 354° from true north). At Kp 2.3 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 18° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
What is the best month to see the aurora in Lerwick?
Over 2005–2025, October gave the best odds in Lerwick (13% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by September (12%).
When is the aurora season in Lerwick?
From 10 May to 2 August the sky in Lerwick never gets dark enough. Outside that period the aurora can be seen whenever activity and clouds allow.
Is there much light pollution in Lerwick?
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 Lerwick?
Activity last reached storm level (Kp 5 or more) during darkness in Lerwick on 10 October 2026 (Kp 7.0) — 881 such nights since 1995. Here the aurora also appears on many quieter nights.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Lerwick share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Freefield 1 km
- Garthspool 1 km
- Lowersound 2 km
- Sound 2 km
- Holmsgarth 2 km
- Gremista 2 km
- Grindiscol 2 km
- Beosetter 3 km
- Kirkabister 4 km
- Tingwall 5 km
- Gulberwick 5 km
- Veensgarth 6 km
- Gott 6 km
- Brindister 6 km
- Laxfirth 7 km
- Wadbister 9 km
- Stebbligrind 10 km
- White Ness 10 km
- Kalliness 12 km
- Vassa 12 km
- Freester 12 km
- Hellister 12 km
- Cott 13 km
- Garth 13 km
- Brough 13 km
- Sound 13 km
- Catfirth 14 km
- Weisdale 14 km
- Skellister 14 km
- Tresta 15 km
- Sand 15 km
- Leeans 15 km
- Garderhouse 16 km
- Easter Skeld 17 km
- Semblister 17 km
- Laxfirth 18 km
- Bixter 18 km
- Wester Skeld 18 km
- Aith 19 km
- Billister 19 km