Scotland, United KingdomMagnetic latitude 56.1°Population 7,39022 m above sea level
Northern lights in Thurso
From Thurso the aurora is visible on most active nights — first low to the north, from about Kp 3.
Right now
It is still light here. Darkness starts at 19:32.
Updates every minute while this page is open.
Tonight in one minute
Not tonight
- Solar activity Enough for a camera: Kp 2.7 expected, 1.3 needed for photos, 3 for the eye.
- Sky Overcast (93% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 19:32 to 06:27.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
- Detailed forecast Fri 16 2.7 Unlikely · Kp 2.7
- Sat 17 1.7 Unlikely · Kp 1.7
- Sun 18 1.7 Photos only · Kp 1.7
- 27-day trend Mon 19 2 Photos only · 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
Thursday 22 October — Possible · Kp 4 · best around 00:00 · Forecast cloud: 63%. · 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 14:44 local time
Unlikely
Best around 19:00. Forecast max Kp 2.7 (this place needs 3), average cloud 93%.
- Dark enough
- 19:32 – 06:27
- Sunset
- 18:05 · sunrise 07:54
- Moon
- 31% · ↑ 15:36 · ↓ 19:48
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 3
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 1.3 (a red glow low in the north).
- Look towards
- north (354°)
Clearer skies nearby tonight
Forecast cloud during tonight's darkness: 93% here. The clearest option within 100 km is about 60 km to the south, near Brora, with 41%. 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
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What you would see from Thurso
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° | 712 km |
| 3 | Visible to the north | 10° | 20° | 489 km |
| 4 | Visible to the north | 20° | 35° | 267 km |
| 5 | Visible to the north | 67° | 77° | 44 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 Thurso Only under the auroral oval: northern Norway, Swedish and Finnish Lapland, Iceland, Alaska, northern Canada.
- Kp 3 Unsettled next 24 h eye in Thurso 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.
A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the east-north-east. 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 0.9°), 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 Thurso
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
September has been the best month (7% of nights), followed by April (6%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 7% | 16% | 7.9 h | 12° / 14°C |
| October | 3% | 10% | 10.8 h | 10° / 12°C |
| November | 3% | 5% | 12.8 h | 8° / 10°C |
| December | 1% | 4% | 14.0 h | 7° / 9°C |
| January | 1% | 4% | 13.3 h | 6° / 8°C |
| February | 3% | 7% | 11.5 h | 6° / 7°C |
| March | 4% | 10% | 9.1 h | 6° / 7°C |
| April | 6% | 16% | 6.0 h | 7° / 8°C |
Darkness through the year
- No full darkness (Sun 12° below the horizon) from 16 May to 27 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 Thurso 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 Thurso
-
Dunnet Head
Mainland Britain's most northerly point, with high cliffs and a lighthouse facing north over the Pentland Firth. · about 19 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Thurso Bay
Bay beside the town with an open view north across the Pentland Firth to Orkney. · about 1 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
John o' Groats
Village at Britain's northeast tip recommended for its open northern horizon. · about 33 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Duncansby Head
Headland with lighthouse and sea stacks, one of the most northerly points of the UK mainland. · about 35 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
Local knowledge
- Caithness's dark skies and uninterrupted northern horizons make it one of the best areas of mainland Britain for aurora.
- Leave Thurso's streetlights behind; open coast just outside town looks north over the Pentland Firth.
- Aurora is most often seen here between October and March; AuroraWatch UK sends alerts.
- The Caithness Astronomy Group is a local source of dark-sky information and events.
Cliff tops at Dunnet Head and Duncansby Head are unfenced in places; keep well back from edges in the dark.
Dunnet Head is an RSPB reserve; stay on paths and respect wildlife.
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Wick John O'Groats Airport (WIC) · 29 km
- Typical low / high in September
- 12° / 14°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 Thurso?
From Thurso the aurora is visible on most active nights — first low to the north, from about Kp 3.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Thurso?
Face north (about 354° from true north). At Kp 3 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 10° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
What is the best month to see the aurora in Thurso?
Over 2005–2025, September gave the best odds in Thurso (7% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by April (6%).
When is the aurora season in Thurso?
From 16 May to 27 July the sky in Thurso never gets dark enough. Outside that period the aurora can be seen whenever activity and clouds allow.
Is there much light pollution in Thurso?
Some sky glow from nearby lights. Moderate displays are fine; faint ones are easier a few kilometres out. A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the east-north-east.
When was the aurora last possible in Thurso?
Activity last reached storm level (Kp 5 or more) during darkness in Thurso on 10 October 2026 (Kp 7.0) — 902 such nights since 1995. Here the aurora also appears on many quieter nights.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Thurso share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Pennyland 0 km
- Millbank 1 km
- Mountvernon 1 km
- Springpark 1 km
- Mountpleasant 1 km
- Thurso East 1 km
- Ormlie 1 km
- Scrabster 3 km
- Glengolly 3 km
- Newlands of Geise 3 km
- Janetstown 4 km
- Murkle 5 km
- Achnavast 5 km
- Lieurary 7 km
- Castletown 8 km
- Skaill 9 km
- Crosskirk 9 km
- West Dunnet 10 km
- Thurdistoft 10 km
- Upper Dounreay 11 km
- Lower Dounreay 11 km
- Dunnet 11 km
- Hunspow 11 km
- Greenland 12 km
- Dounreay 12 km
- Brough 12 km
- Buldoo 12 km
- Easter Head 12 km
- Achvarasdal 13 km
- Corsback 13 km
- Bowertower 14 km
- Bowermadden 14 km
- Isauld 14 km
- Ham 14 km
- Reay 15 km
- Barrock 15 km
- Lochend 15 km
- Scarfskerry 16 km
- Fresgoe 16 km
- Mey 18 km