Aurora Borealis in Harstad

Norway · 68.80°, 16.54° · geomagnetic 67.0° · needs Kp 3

Tonight in Harstad

13%

Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Harstad needs Kp 3 before anything clears the northern horizon, and tonight the forecast peaks at Kp 5.7 — comfortably over the line.

Tonight Sun 02 Aug
13%
18
20
22
00
02
04
06
Tomorrow Mon 3 Aug
11%
Hour-by-hour for this night is in the app
Tuesday Tue 4 Aug
8%
Hour-by-hour for this night is in the app

Unlock every hour in the app

Updated 2026-08-02 20:20 UTC

The next 30 nights in Harstad

Every night to come, scored the same way as tonight. The best of the open week is Friday 7 Aug at 18%. 4 of the seven reach the Kp 3 that Harstad needs, topping out 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.

Low activity for the next few days. Moderate aurora expected on August 19th.

Sun 2
13%
Kp 5.7
Mon 3
11%
Kp 3.3
Tue 4
8%
Kp 1.9
Wed 5
17%
Kp 3.0
Thu 6
15%
Kp 3.0
Fri 7
18%
Kp 2.0
Sat 8
14%
Kp 2.0

Nights 8–30 unlock in the Revon app

See all 30 nights for Harstad

Revon aurora model over the NOAA Kp forecast and 27-day outlook

How often the aurora borealis reaches Harstad

99.5 nights a year, averaged across 10.0 years of records

Storm levelNights / year
Kp 483.4
Kp 528.7
Kp 69.3
Kp 73.2
Kp 81.2

NOAA planetary Kp, 2016-04-02 to 2026-03-30

You are inside the auroral oval

Harstad sits far enough northern that quiet conditions are enough. What limits you here is cloud and moonlight, not geomagnetic activity.

Hours of true darkness, month by month

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
12.69.95.70.00.00.00.00.02.58.612.013.4

Solar declination and hour angle at −18°

Polar night

For part of the winter the sun does not clear the horizon at all in Harstad. Darkness is continuous rather than nightly, so the aurora borealis can appear in what the clock calls afternoon.

Nothing to see from April to August

Through those months the sun never falls more than 18° below the Harstad horizon, so the sky never darkens fully. Plan around the darker half of the year.

Getting clear of the light

Harstad is small enough that its own lights are a minor problem — the centre reads Bortle 7. Walking to the edge of town is often escape enough.

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, October, March and February came out ahead in Harstad. 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 Harstad viewing season.

Where it is close to a certainty

Tromsø is close enough to reach and return in a night — 134 km north-east — and needs only Kp 3.

HarstadTromsø
Kp needed33
Nights per year99.5 171.4
Geomagnetic latitude67.0° 67.4°

See the Tromsø forecast

Confirmed reports from this area

118 verified sightings were logged within 300 km of Harstad 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 Harstad

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 Harstad.

Places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)

Where to stay

Anywhere on the outskirts of Harstad will do; what matters is being able to step outside and check the sky without a drive first.

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 Harstad and the sky was dark enough to show it.

DatePeak
2026-03-29Kp 3.33
2026-03-28Kp 3.67
2026-03-27Kp 3.33
2026-03-26Kp 3.0
2026-03-24Kp 5.0

NOAA planetary Kp

Know when it is worth going outside

Revon watches the Harstad forecast and pushes an alert when the odds for tonight clear your threshold — no checking, no guessing.

Get aurora alerts on iPhone

Common questions about the aurora borealis in Harstad

Can you see the aurora borealis from Harstad?

Yes. On the last 10.0 years of NOAA Kp records, Harstad had about 99.5 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 Harstad?

Kp 3. Harstad sits at geomagnetic latitude 67.0°, and the auroral oval only reaches that far from the pole once activity hits Kp 3.

When is the best time of year to see the aurora borealis in Harstad?

October, March and February. Those months scored highest once both conditions are counted together: geomagnetic activity and enough hours of real darkness. From April to August the sky over Harstad never gets fully dark, so nothing is visible however strong the storm.

Where can you escape the light pollution near Harstad?

The centre of Harstad reads Bortle 7. The nearest sky at Bortle 3 is about 22 km north. On a marginal night that drive matters more than the forecast does.

Where is the nearest place to Harstad with reliable aurora borealis?

Tromsø, Norway — 134 km north-east. It needs only Kp 3 and averages 171.4 viable nights a year against 99.5 in Harstad.

Nearby towns

Forecasts for places within reach of Harstad.