Scotland, United KingdomMagnetic latitude 55.9°Population 7,50012 m above sea level
Northern lights in Stornoway
Stornoway needs an active night: from about Kp 3.3 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 916 nights.
Right now
It is still light here. Darkness starts at 19:43.
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, 1.7 needed for photos, 3.3 for the eye.
- Sky Partly cloudy (66% cloud) — look for gaps.
- Darkness Dark from 19:43 to 06:39.
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 Unlikely · Kp 1.7
- Sun 18 1.7 Unlikely · 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 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 Unlikely · Kp 3
- Tue 3 2 Unlikely · Kp 2
- Wed 4 2 Unlikely · Kp 2
- Thu 5 3 Unlikely · Kp 3
- Fri 6 3 Unlikely · Kp 3
- Sat 7 3 Unlikely · Kp 3
Friday 23 October — Possible · Kp 4 · best around 00:30 · Forecast cloud: 68%. · 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 15:44 local time
Possible
Best around 00:00. Forecast max Kp 2.7 (this place needs 3.3), average cloud 66%.
- Dark enough
- 19:43 – 06:39
- Sunset
- 18:17 · sunrise 08:05
- Moon
- 31% · ↑ 15:42 · ↓ 20:06
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 3.3
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 1.7 (a red glow low in the north).
- Look towards
- north (354°)
Score = activity (NOAA Kp and OVATION) × clear sky (MET Norway) × darkness × moonlight. Methodology
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What you would see from Stornoway
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 | 5° | 12° | 734 km |
| 3 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 9° | 19° | 512 km |
| 4 | Visible to the north | 19° | 33° | 289 km |
| 5 | Visible to the north | 57° | 71° | 67 km |
| 6 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 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 camera in Stornoway Only under the auroral oval: northern Norway, Swedish and Finnish Lapland, Iceland, Alaska, northern Canada.
- Kp 3 Unsettled next 24 h eye in Stornoway 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
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 west-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 1.3°), 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 Stornoway
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
April has been the best month (5% of nights), followed by March (5%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 4% | 20% | 8.0 h | 12° / 14°C |
| October | 5% | 20% | 10.8 h | 10° / 12°C |
| November | 3% | 14% | 12.8 h | 8° / 10°C |
| December | 3% | 13% | 13.8 h | 6° / 8°C |
| January | 1% | 10% | 13.3 h | 6° / 8°C |
| February | 5% | 16% | 11.5 h | 5° / 7°C |
| March | 5% | 19% | 9.1 h | 5° / 8°C |
| April | 5% | 26% | 6.0 h | 6° / 9°C |
Darkness through the year
- No full darkness (Sun 12° below the horizon) from 18 May to 25 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 Stornoway 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
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Stornoway Airport (SYY) · 3 km
- Typical low / high in April
- 6° / 9°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 Stornoway?
Stornoway needs an active night: from about Kp 3.3 the aurora appears low over the north horizon, and it rises higher as activity grows.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Stornoway?
Face north (about 354° from true north). At Kp 3.3 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 19° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
What is the best month to see the aurora in Stornoway?
Over 2005–2025, April gave the best odds in Stornoway (5% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by March (5%).
When is the aurora season in Stornoway?
From 18 May to 25 July the sky in Stornoway never gets dark enough. Outside that period the aurora can be seen whenever activity and clouds allow.
Is there much light pollution in Stornoway?
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 west-north-west.
When was the aurora last possible in Stornoway?
Activity last reached storm level (Kp 5 or more) during darkness in Stornoway on 10 October 2026 (Kp 7.0) — 916 such nights since 1995. Here the aurora also appears on many quieter nights.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Stornoway share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Sandwick 2 km
- Raon na Crèadha 2 km
- Branahuie 4 km
- Melbost 4 km
- Bràigh na h-Aoidhe 4 km
- Aignish 6 km
- Swordale 7 km
- Knock 7 km
- Grimshader 7 km
- Ceann Hurnavay 7 km
- Ranish 8 km
- Leurbost 9 km
- Crossbost 9 km
- Upper Bayble 10 km
- Lower Bayble 10 km
- Garrabost 10 km
- Bayble 10 km
- Eagleton 10 km
- Cromore 12 km
- Arhmore, Lewis 12 km
- Achadh Mor 12 km
- Lochs 13 km
- Keose 13 km
- Marvig 14 km
- Cabharstadh 14 km
- Loch a' Ghainmhich 14 km
- Lacasaidh 15 km
- Kershader 15 km
- Calbost 16 km
- Gravir 18 km
- Glenside 18 km
- Garynahine 19 km
- Balallan 19 km
- Sildinis 20 km
- Grimersta 21 km
- Lemreway 22 km
- Eishken 23 km
- Giosla 30 km
- Einacleit 30 km
- Ath Linne 31 km