Aurora Borealis in Drammen
Norway · 59.74°, 10.20° · geomagnetic 59.6° · needs Kp 5
Tonight in Drammen
41%
Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Drammen needs Kp 5, and tonight the forecast peaks at Kp 5.7. That is on the threshold rather than over it, so cloud and moonlight will decide the night.
Updated 2026-08-02 20:20 UTC
The next 30 nights in Drammen
Every night to come, scored the same way as tonight. The best of the open week is Sunday 2 Aug at 41%. One of the seven reaches the Kp 5 that Drammen needs: Sunday 2 Aug, at Kp 5.7. The 23 nights past the seven-day window move with the 27-day solar rotation and are updated daily in the app.
Nights 8–30 unlock in the Revon app
Revon aurora model over the NOAA Kp forecast and 27-day outlook
How often the aurora borealis reaches Drammen
21.0 nights a year, averaged across 10.0 years of records
| Storm level | Nights / year |
|---|---|
| Kp 4 | 83.4 |
| Kp 5 | 28.7 |
| Kp 6 | 9.3 |
| Kp 7 | 3.2 |
| Kp 8 | 1.2 |
NOAA planetary Kp, 2016-04-02 to 2026-03-30
Worth watching through the dark half of the year
Kp 5 is a moderate storm — not an everyday event, but common enough that a patient observer in Drammen sees the aurora borealis most winters.
Hours of true darkness, month by month
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12.0 | 10.2 | 7.7 | 3.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 6.3 | 9.4 | 11.6 | 12.5 |
Solar declination and hour angle at −18°
Nothing to see from May to August
Through those months the sun never falls more than 18° below the Drammen horizon, so the sky never darkens fully. Plan around the darker half of the year.
Getting clear of the light
The sky over Drammen reads Bortle 7. Getting clear of the built-up area makes a visible difference on a marginal night.
- 38 km north-west — around Sigdal → Bortle 5
- 49 km north-west — around Sigdal → Bortle 4
Falchi 2016 World Atlas (DOI: 10.5880/GFZ.1.4.2016.001)
The months that actually deliver
Counting only nights that were both stormy enough and dark enough, September, March and October came out ahead in Drammen. That is storm season and darkness overlapping — the equinoxes tend to be geomagnetically active, and the nights are already long by then.
Darkest nights of the coming year
A bright moon washes out a weak display as effectively as street lighting. These new moons fall inside the Drammen viewing season.
- 11 Sep 2026
- 11 Oct 2026
- 09 Nov 2026
- 09 Dec 2026
- 07 Jan 2027
- 06 Feb 2027
- 08 Mar 2027
Where it is close to a certainty
If you would rather plan a trip than wait for a storm, the nearest place with genuinely frequent aurora is Bodø, 863 km north-north-east in Norway.
| Drammen | Bodø | |
|---|---|---|
| Kp needed | 5 | 3 |
| Nights per year | 21.0 | 171.4 |
| Geomagnetic latitude | 59.6° | 66.0° |
Confirmed reports from this area
245 verified sightings were logged within 300 km of Drammen between 2015-01-01 and 2016-12-31. Rare is not the same as impossible.
Aurorasaurus verified positive reports
Where the horizon opens up near Drammen
The display sits low on the northern horizon, so what beats a better forecast is open ground facing that way. Height gets you above the town glow; water gives you an unbroken skyline. These are within a short drive of Drammen.
- Hvalsdammen — lake3.4 km north-north-west
- Gilhusodden — headland3.5 km east
- Grønnlia — hill4.0 km north-north-west
- Ramfløya — hill4.2 km west-north-west
- Pålsøya — island4.3 km west
- Sølfastøya — island4.5 km west
Places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where to stay
Anywhere on the outskirts of Drammen will do; what matters is being able to step outside and check the sky without a drive first.
- Comfort Hotel Union Brygge Drammen 0.7 km from the centre
- Best Western Globus Hotel 0.5 km from the centre
- Scandic Ambassadeur Drammen 0.5 km from the centre
- Comfort Hotel Union Brygge 0.7 km from the centre
- Clarion Collection Hotel Tollboden 0.8 km from the centre
- Comfort Tollboden 0.8 km from the centre
Places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0) — confirm before booking
The last nights it was visible here
Nights in the last decade when the storm was strong enough for Drammen and the sky was dark enough to show it.
| Date | Peak |
|---|---|
| 2026-03-24 | Kp 5.0 |
| 2026-03-23 | Kp 5.0 |
| 2026-03-22 | Kp 6.67 |
| 2026-03-21 | Kp 6.0 |
| 2026-03-20 | Kp 7.0 |
NOAA planetary Kp
Know when it is worth going outside
Revon watches the Drammen forecast and pushes an alert when the odds for tonight clear your threshold — no checking, no guessing.
Common questions about the aurora borealis in Drammen
Can you see the aurora borealis from Drammen?
Yes. On the last 10.0 years of NOAA Kp records, Drammen had about 21.0 nights a year when the storm was strong enough and the sky dark enough at the same time.
What Kp index do you need to see the aurora borealis in Drammen?
Kp 5. Drammen sits at geomagnetic latitude 59.6°, and the auroral oval only reaches that far from the pole once activity hits Kp 5. Storms that size occur about 28.7 nights a year.
When is the best time of year to see the aurora borealis in Drammen?
September, March and October. Those months scored highest once both conditions are counted together: geomagnetic activity and enough hours of real darkness. From May to August the sky over Drammen never gets fully dark, so nothing is visible however strong the storm.
Where can you escape the light pollution near Drammen?
The centre of Drammen reads Bortle 7. The nearest sky at Bortle 4 is about 49 km north-west around Sigdal. On a marginal night that drive matters more than the forecast does.
Where is the nearest place to Drammen with reliable aurora borealis?
Bodø, Norway — 863 km north-north-east. It needs only Kp 3 and averages 171.4 viable nights a year against 21.0 in Drammen.
Nearby towns
Forecasts for places within reach of Drammen.
- 🇳🇴 Kongsberg - Norway32 km
- 🇳🇴 Oslo - Norway36 km
- 🇳🇴 Horten - Norway40 km
- 🇳🇴 Moss - Norway43 km
- 🇳🇴 Lillestrøm - Norway53 km
- 🇳🇴 Tønsberg - Norway54 km
- 🇳🇴 Sandefjord - Norway68 km
- 🇳🇴 Skien - Norway68 km