Aurora Borealis in Frinton-on-Sea
United Kingdom · 51.83°, 1.24° · geomagnetic 53.5° · needs Kp 7
Tonight in Frinton-on-Sea
3%
Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Frinton-on-Sea needs Kp 7 to see anything at all, and tonight the forecast peaks at Kp 5.7. Short of the threshold, which is what most nights look like here.
Updated 2026-08-02 20:20 UTC
The next 30 nights in Frinton-on-Sea
Every night to come, scored the same way as tonight. The best of the open week is Sunday 2 Aug at 3%. Not one of the seven reaches the Kp 7 that Frinton-on-Sea needs, which is normal rather than unlucky — it averages 2.7 viable nights a year. 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
See all 30 nights for Frinton-on-Sea
Revon aurora model over the NOAA Kp forecast and 27-day outlook
How often the aurora borealis reaches Frinton-on-Sea
2.7 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
Wait for an alert; do not book a week
At Kp 7, Frinton-on-Sea needs a severe geomagnetic storm before anything shows above the northern horizon. Storms that size arrive a handful of times per solar cycle and announce themselves a day or two ahead. Watching for one beats picking dates and hoping.
Hours of true darkness, month by month
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11.7 | 10.3 | 8.5 | 5.8 | 2.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.6 | 7.6 | 9.8 | 11.3 | 12.0 |
Solar declination and hour angle at −18°
Nothing to see from June to July
Through those months the sun never falls more than 18° below the Frinton-on-Sea horizon, so the sky never darkens fully. Plan around the darker half of the year.
Getting clear of the light
Frinton-on-Sea is small enough that its own lights are a minor problem — the centre reads Bortle 5. Walking to the edge of town is often escape enough.
- 9 km south → Bortle 5
- 20 km east-south-east → 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, August and November came out ahead in Frinton-on-Sea. 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 Frinton-on-Sea viewing season.
- 13 Aug 2026
- 11 Sep 2026
- 11 Oct 2026
- 09 Nov 2026
- 09 Dec 2026
- 07 Jan 2027
- 06 Feb 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 Inverness, 719 km north-north-west in United Kingdom.
| Frinton-on-Sea | Inverness | |
|---|---|---|
| Kp needed | 7 | 5 |
| Nights per year | 2.7 | 28.7 |
| Geomagnetic latitude | 53.5° | 59.8° |
Confirmed reports from this area
39 verified sightings were logged within 300 km of Frinton-on-Sea 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 Frinton-on-Sea
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 Frinton-on-Sea.
- Hedge-end Island — island4.7 km north
- The Naze — cape4.8 km north-east
- Honey Island — island4.9 km north-north-west
- Hamford Water — bay5.9 km north
- Pennyhole Bay — bay9.7 km north
- Landguard Point — headland12.4 km north-north-east
Places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where to stay
Anywhere on the outskirts of Frinton-on-Sea will do; what matters is being able to step outside and check the sky without a drive first.
- Lifehouse Spa & Hotel 5.8 km from the centre
- The Legacy Kingscliff Hotel 5.0 km from the centre
- Esplanade Hotel 7.6 km from the centre
- Comfort Hotel Clacton On Sea 7.9 km from the centre
- Days Inn Clacton On Sea 8.3 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 Frinton-on-Sea and the sky was dark enough to show it.
| Date | Peak |
|---|---|
| 2026-03-20 | Kp 7.0 |
| 2026-01-20 | Kp 7.67 |
| 2026-01-19 | Kp 8.67 |
| 2025-11-12 | Kp 7.33 |
| 2025-11-11 | Kp 8.67 |
NOAA planetary Kp
Know when it is worth going outside
Revon watches the Frinton-on-Sea forecast and pushes an alert when the odds for tonight clear your threshold — no checking, no guessing.
Common questions about the aurora borealis in Frinton-on-Sea
Can you see the aurora borealis from Frinton-on-Sea?
Yes. On the last 10.0 years of NOAA Kp records, Frinton-on-Sea had about 2.7 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 Frinton-on-Sea?
Kp 7. Frinton-on-Sea sits at geomagnetic latitude 53.5°, and the auroral oval only reaches that far from the pole once activity hits Kp 7. Storms that size occur about 3.2 nights a year.
When is the best time of year to see the aurora borealis in Frinton-on-Sea?
September, August and November. Those months scored highest once both conditions are counted together: geomagnetic activity and enough hours of real darkness. From June to July the sky over Frinton-on-Sea never gets fully dark, so nothing is visible however strong the storm.
Where can you escape the light pollution near Frinton-on-Sea?
The centre of Frinton-on-Sea reads Bortle 5. The nearest sky at Bortle 4 is about 20 km east-south-east. On a marginal night that drive matters more than the forecast does.
Where is the nearest place to Frinton-on-Sea with reliable aurora borealis?
Inverness, United Kingdom — 719 km north-north-west. It needs only Kp 5 and averages 28.7 viable nights a year against 2.7 in Frinton-on-Sea.
Nearby towns
Forecasts for places within reach of Frinton-on-Sea.