Aurora Borealis in Dumbarton
United Kingdom · 55.94°, -4.57° · geomagnetic 58.4° · needs Kp 5
Tonight's aurora forecast for Dumbarton
50%
Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Dumbarton needs Kp 5 to see anything at all, and tonight the forecast peaks at Kp 4.9. Short of the threshold, which is what most nights look like here.
Get the full 30-night forecast in Revon
Updated 2026-09-08 10:35 UTC
Local aurora guide for Dumbarton
Dumbarton is at a geomagnetic latitude of 58.4 degrees. Auroras are typically visible at this latitude when the Kp index reaches 5.
On average, there are 22.6 nights per year with conditions suitable for aurora viewing. The historical record spans from April 2, 2016, to March 30, 2026.
The best months for aurora viewing in Dumbarton are September, October, and March. These months offer a good balance of darkness and aurora activity.
During May, June, and July, there is no full darkness due to the high latitude, making aurora viewing impossible.
Dumbarton experiences a Bortle 5 sky, indicating moderate light pollution. Areas with less light pollution, such as Bortle 3 skies, can be found 34 km north near Stirling.
Other areas with Bortle 5 skies are located 8 km north-east near West Dunbartonshire.
The horizon is characterized by hills such as Creigarestie (5.4 km east) and Bromley Muir (6.1 km north-north-west), mountains like Duncolm (7.8 km east-north-east), and lakes including Loch Humphrey (6.5 km east) and Cochno Loch (9.6 km east).
Nearby terrain includes hills like Creigarestie, located 5.4 km east of Dumbarton, and Bromley Muir, 6.1 km north-north-west.
Further east, you can find the lake Loch Humphrey, 6.5 km away, and the mountain Duncolm, 7.8 km east-north-east.
Cochno Loch, another lake, is situated 9.6 km east of Dumbarton.
There have been 244 verified aurora reports within 300 km of Dumbarton between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2016.
The historical record includes qualifying nights such as March 24, 2026 (Kp 5.0), March 23, 2026 (Kp 5.0), and March 22, 2026 (Kp 6.67).
Sources: Revon location dataset · Revon analysis of NOAA planetary Kp · Solar declination and hour-angle calculation · Falchi 2016 World Atlas of artificial night sky brightness · GeoNames (CC BY 4.0) · Aurorasaurus verified positive reports
Know when it is worth going outside
Revon watches the Dumbarton forecast and pushes an alert when the odds for tonight clear your threshold — no checking, no guessing.
Nearby towns
Forecasts for places within reach of Dumbarton.