Aurora Borealis in Nordland
Norway · 66.80°, 14.26° · geomagnetic 65.6° · needs Kp 3
Tonight in Nordland
32%
Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Nordland needs Kp 3 before anything clears the northern horizon, and tonight the forecast peaks at Kp 5.7 — comfortably over the line.
Updated 2026-08-02 20:20 UTC
The next 30 nights in Nordland
Every night to come, scored the same way as tonight. The best of the open week is Sunday 2 Aug at 32%. 4 of the seven reach the Kp 3 that Nordland 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.
Nights 8–30 unlock in the Revon app
See all 30 nights for Nordland
Revon aurora model over the NOAA Kp forecast and 27-day outlook
How often the aurora borealis reaches Nordland
104.5 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
You are inside the auroral oval
Nordland 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
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12.5 | 10.0 | 6.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 8.9 | 11.9 | 13.2 |
Solar declination and hour angle at −18°
Polar night
For part of the winter the sun does not clear the horizon at all in Nordland. 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 Nordland horizon, so the sky never darkens fully. Plan around the darker half of the year.
Getting clear of the light
The sky over Nordland reads Bortle 3. Getting clear of the built-up area makes a visible difference on a marginal night.
- 5 km south — around Meløy → Bortle 3
- 5 km south — around Meløy → 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, March, October and February came out ahead in Nordland. 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 Nordland 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
Bodø is close enough to reach and return in a night — 54 km north — and needs only Kp 3.
| Nordland | Bodø | |
|---|---|---|
| Kp needed | 3 | 3 |
| Nights per year | 104.5 | 171.4 |
| Geomagnetic latitude | 65.6° | 66.0° |
Confirmed reports from this area
60 verified sightings were logged within 300 km of Nordland 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 Nordland
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 Nordland.
- Seglvatnet — lake3.1 km north-north-east
- Sundvatnet — lake3.9 km north-north-west
- Ramnfjellet — hill4.1 km east-north-east
- Gamhaugen — hill4.6 km north-east
- Seglfjellet — mountain4.8 km north-north-east
- Navaren — peak6.4 km west
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 Nordland and the sky was dark enough to show it.
| Date | Peak |
|---|---|
| 2026-03-30 | Kp 3.0 |
| 2026-03-29 | Kp 3.33 |
| 2026-03-28 | Kp 3.67 |
| 2026-03-27 | Kp 3.33 |
| 2026-03-26 | Kp 3.0 |
NOAA planetary Kp
Aurora forecasts across Nordland
All 2 places in Nordland with a forecast page, and the Kp each one needs.
Know when it is worth going outside
Revon watches the Nordland forecast and pushes an alert when the odds for tonight clear your threshold — no checking, no guessing.
Common questions about the aurora borealis in Nordland
Can you see the aurora borealis from Nordland?
Yes. On the last 10.0 years of NOAA Kp records, Nordland had about 104.5 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 Nordland?
Kp 3. Nordland sits at geomagnetic latitude 65.6°, 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 Nordland?
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 Nordland never gets fully dark, so nothing is visible however strong the storm.
Where can you escape the light pollution near Nordland?
The centre of Nordland reads Bortle 3. The nearest sky at Bortle 3 is about 5 km south around Meløy. On a marginal night that drive matters more than the forecast does.
Where is the nearest place to Nordland with reliable aurora borealis?
Bodø, Norway — 54 km north. It needs only Kp 3 and averages 171.4 viable nights a year against 104.5 in Nordland.
Nearby towns
Forecasts for places within reach of Nordland.
- 🇳🇴 Bodø - Norway54 km
- 🇳🇴 Mo i Rana - Norway54 km
- 🇳🇴 Harstad - Norway242 km
- 🇸🇪 Kiruna - Sweden281 km
- 🇸🇪 Boden - Sweden349 km
- 🇸🇪 Piteå - Sweden365 km
- 🇳🇴 Levanger - Norway366 km
- 🇳🇴 Tromsø - Norway371 km