Aurora Borealis in Luleå

Sweden · 65.58°, 22.15° · geomagnetic 63.2° · needs Kp 3

Tonight in Luleå

37%

Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Luleå 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
37%
18
20
22
00
02
04
06
Tomorrow Mon 3 Aug
25%
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 Luleå

Every night to come, scored the same way as tonight. The best of the open week is Sunday 2 Aug at 37%. 4 of the seven reach the Kp 3 that Luleå 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.

Moderate aurora activity tonight around 1 AM. Similar conditions expected on August 19th.

Sun 2
37%
Kp 5.7
Mon 3
25%
Kp 3.3
Tue 4
8%
Kp 1.9
Wed 5
34%
Kp 3.0
Thu 6
27%
Kp 3.0
Fri 7
27%
Kp 2.0
Sat 8
20%
Kp 2.0

Nights 8–30 unlock in the Revon app

See all 30 nights for Luleå

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

How often the aurora borealis reaches Luleå

108.1 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

Luleå 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
12.410.06.60.00.00.00.00.04.69.011.813.0

Solar declination and hour angle at −18°

Nothing to see from April to August

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

Getting clear of the light

The sky over Luleå reads Bortle 7. Getting clear of the built-up area makes a visible difference on a marginal night.

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

Where it is close to a certainty

Rovaniemi is close enough to reach and return in a night — 190 km north-east — and needs only Kp 3.

LuleåRovaniemi
Kp needed33
Nights per year108.1 171.4
Geomagnetic latitude63.2° 63.6°

See the Rovaniemi forecast

Confirmed reports from this area

181 verified sightings were logged within 300 km of Luleå 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 Luleå

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 Luleå.

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. For a day when the cloud sits low, Norrbottens Järnvägsmuseum, Friluftsmuseet Hägnan and Norrbottens Museum 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)

Where to stay

Anywhere on the outskirts of Luleå 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 Luleå and the sky was dark enough to show it.

DatePeak
2026-03-30Kp 3.0
2026-03-29Kp 3.33
2026-03-28Kp 3.67
2026-03-27Kp 3.33
2026-03-26Kp 3.0

NOAA planetary Kp

Know when it is worth going outside

Revon watches the Luleå 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 Luleå

Can you see the aurora borealis from Luleå?

Yes. On the last 10.0 years of NOAA Kp records, Luleå had about 108.1 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 Luleå?

Kp 3. Luleå sits at geomagnetic latitude 63.2°, 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 Luleå?

March, October 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 Luleå never gets fully dark, so nothing is visible however strong the storm.

Where can you escape the light pollution near Luleå?

The centre of Luleå reads Bortle 7. The nearest sky at Bortle 4 is about 29 km east-south-east. On a marginal night that drive matters more than the forecast does.

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

Rovaniemi, Finland — 190 km north-east. It needs only Kp 3 and averages 171.4 viable nights a year against 108.1 in Luleå.

Nearby towns

Forecasts for places within reach of Luleå.