Aurora Borealis in North Ostrobothnia
Finland · 65.21°, 26.12° · geomagnetic 62.3° · needs Kp 5
Tonight in North Ostrobothnia
49%
Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. North Ostrobothnia needs Kp 5 to see anything at all, and tonight the forecast peaks at Kp 4.7. Short of the threshold, which is what most nights look like here.
Get the full 30-night forecast in Revon
Updated 2026-09-08 10:35 UTC
How often the aurora borealis reaches North Ostrobothnia
17.5 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
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 North Ostrobothnia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12.4 | 10.1 | 6.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.7 | 9.1 | 11.8 | 13.0 |
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 North Ostrobothnia horizon, so the sky never darkens fully. Plan around the darker half of the year.
Getting clear of the light
With 266,563 people around you, the sky over central North Ostrobothnia is Bortle 3. The glow hides anything but the brightest display, so the drive out matters more here than the forecast does.
- 7 km north-west — around Oulu → Bortle 3
- 7 km north-west — around Oulu → 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 North Ostrobothnia. 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 North Ostrobothnia 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
Rovaniemi is close enough to reach and return in a night — 145 km north — and needs only Kp 3.
| North Ostrobothnia | Rovaniemi | |
|---|---|---|
| Kp needed | 5 | 3 |
| Nights per year | 17.5 | 171.4 |
| Geomagnetic latitude | 62.3° | 63.6° |
Confirmed reports from this area
173 verified sightings were logged within 300 km of North Ostrobothnia 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 North Ostrobothnia
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 North Ostrobothnia.
- Iso Ahvenjärvi — lake4.1 km north-east
- Närhivaara — ridge4.1 km west-north-west
- Ahvenselkä — ridge4.6 km north-north-east
- Pikku Ahvenjärvi — lake4.8 km north-east
- Röytänniemi — hill6.0 km north-west
- Hiekkakaisto — hill7.2 km north-north-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 North Ostrobothnia 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
Aurora forecasts across North Ostrobothnia
All 4 places in North Ostrobothnia with a forecast page, and the Kp each one needs.
- HaukipudasKp 5
- KuusamoKp 5
- OuluKp 5
- RaaheKp 5
Know when it is worth going outside
Revon watches the North Ostrobothnia forecast and pushes an alert when the odds for tonight clear your threshold — no checking, no guessing.
Common questions about the aurora borealis in North Ostrobothnia
Can you see the aurora borealis from North Ostrobothnia?
Yes. On the last 10.0 years of NOAA Kp records, North Ostrobothnia had about 17.5 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 North Ostrobothnia?
Kp 5. North Ostrobothnia sits at geomagnetic latitude 62.3°, 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 North Ostrobothnia?
September, March and October. 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 North Ostrobothnia never gets fully dark, so nothing is visible however strong the storm.
Where can you escape the light pollution near North Ostrobothnia?
The centre of North Ostrobothnia reads Bortle 3. The nearest sky at Bortle 3 is about 7 km north-west around Oulu. On a marginal night that drive matters more than the forecast does.
Where is the nearest place to North Ostrobothnia with reliable aurora borealis?
Rovaniemi, Finland — 145 km north. It needs only Kp 3 and averages 171.4 viable nights a year against 17.5 in North Ostrobothnia.
Nearby towns
Forecasts for places within reach of North Ostrobothnia.
- 🇫🇮 Haukipudas - Finland36 km
- 🇫🇮 Oulu - Finland38 km
- 🇫🇮 Kemi - Finland93 km
- 🇫🇮 Raahe - Finland97 km
- 🇫🇮 Tornio - Finland115 km
- 🇫🇮 Kajaani - Finland133 km
- 🇫🇮 Rovaniemi - Finland145 km
- 🇫🇮 Kuusamo - Finland164 km