Aurora Borealis in Karlskoga
Sweden · 59.33°, 14.52° · geomagnetic 58.5° · needs Kp 5
Tonight in Karlskoga
36%
Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Karlskoga 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 Karlskoga
Every night to come, scored the same way as tonight. The best of the open week is Sunday 2 Aug at 36%. One of the seven reaches the Kp 5 that Karlskoga 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
See all 30 nights for Karlskoga
Revon aurora model over the NOAA Kp forecast and 27-day outlook
How often the aurora borealis reaches Karlskoga
21.3 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 Karlskoga 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 | 3.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 6.4 | 9.5 | 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 Karlskoga horizon, so the sky never darkens fully. Plan around the darker half of the year.
Getting clear of the light
Karlskoga 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 — around Degerfors kommun → Bortle 5
- 19 km north → Bortle 3
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 Karlskoga. 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 Karlskoga 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, 885 km north in Norway.
| Karlskoga | Bodø | |
|---|---|---|
| Kp needed | 5 | 3 |
| Nights per year | 21.3 | 171.4 |
| Geomagnetic latitude | 58.5° | 66.0° |
Confirmed reports from this area
95 verified sightings were logged within 300 km of Karlskoga 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 Karlskoga
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 Karlskoga.
- Björksjön — lake5.2 km west
- Lillsjön — lake7.2 km east
- Granåsen — hill11.9 km north
- Bofalla — hill17.9 km north-north-east
- Kyrkviken — bay18.0 km north-west
- Storön — island20.6 km north-north-east
Places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
What to do with the daylight
Aurora watching is a night job, and in winter that leaves a short, bright day to fill. Close to Karlskoga you will find Degerforsmasten, and for a day when the cloud sits low, Arbetarmuseet Gråbo and Alfred Nobels Björkborn are indoors and near by.
Keep the daylight loose: the sky decides the evening, and the forecast can turn within a few hours.
Places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
The last nights it was visible here
Nights in the last decade when the storm was strong enough for Karlskoga 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 Karlskoga forecast and pushes an alert when the odds for tonight clear your threshold — no checking, no guessing.
Common questions about the aurora borealis in Karlskoga
Can you see the aurora borealis from Karlskoga?
Yes. On the last 10.0 years of NOAA Kp records, Karlskoga had about 21.3 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 Karlskoga?
Kp 5. Karlskoga sits at geomagnetic latitude 58.5°, 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 Karlskoga?
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 Karlskoga never gets fully dark, so nothing is visible however strong the storm.
Where can you escape the light pollution near Karlskoga?
The centre of Karlskoga reads Bortle 5. The nearest sky at Bortle 3 is about 19 km north. On a marginal night that drive matters more than the forecast does.
Where is the nearest place to Karlskoga with reliable aurora borealis?
Bodø, Norway — 885 km north. It needs only Kp 3 and averages 171.4 viable nights a year against 21.3 in Karlskoga.
Nearby towns
Forecasts for places within reach of Karlskoga.
- 🇸🇪 Örebro - Sweden39 km
- 🇸🇪 Kumla - Sweden42 km
- 🇸🇪 Karlstad - Sweden58 km
- 🇸🇪 Mariestad - Sweden79 km
- 🇸🇪 Köping - Sweden86 km
- 🇸🇪 Motala - Sweden93 km
- 🇸🇪 Ludvika - Sweden99 km
- 🇸🇪 Katrineholm - Sweden103 km