Aurora Borealis in South Karelia
Finland · 61.12°, 28.47° · geomagnetic 58.1° · needs Kp 5
Tonight in South Karelia
39%
Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. South Karelia 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 South Karelia
Every night to come, scored the same way as tonight. The best of the open week is Sunday 2 Aug at 39%. One of the seven reaches the Kp 5 that South Karelia 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 South Karelia
Revon aurora model over the NOAA Kp forecast and 27-day outlook
How often the aurora borealis reaches South Karelia
20.1 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 South Karelia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12.1 | 10.2 | 7.5 | 2.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 6.0 | 9.4 | 11.7 | 12.7 |
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 South Karelia horizon, so the sky never darkens fully. Plan around the darker half of the year.
Getting clear of the light
The sky over South Karelia reads Bortle 7. Getting clear of the built-up area makes a visible difference on a marginal night.
- 15 km north — around Ruokolahti → Bortle 4
- 15 km north — around Ruokolahti → Bortle 4
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 South Karelia. 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 South Karelia 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 Rovaniemi, 614 km north-north-west in Finland.
| South Karelia | Rovaniemi | |
|---|---|---|
| Kp needed | 5 | 3 |
| Nights per year | 20.1 | 171.4 |
| Geomagnetic latitude | 58.1° | 63.6° |
Confirmed reports from this area
39 verified sightings were logged within 300 km of South Karelia 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 South Karelia
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 South Karelia.
- Kankainen — island3.1 km north-north-west
- Leimäki — hill3.1 km north-west
- Revonhäntä — headland3.1 km north
- Viittaluoto — island3.2 km north
- Halkoniemi — headland3.3 km north-east
- Toromäki — hill4.1 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 South Karelia 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 South Karelia
All 2 places in South Karelia with a forecast page, and the Kp each one needs.
- ImatraKp 5
- LappeenrantaKp 5
Know when it is worth going outside
Revon watches the South Karelia forecast and pushes an alert when the odds for tonight clear your threshold — no checking, no guessing.
Common questions about the aurora borealis in South Karelia
Can you see the aurora borealis from South Karelia?
Yes. On the last 10.0 years of NOAA Kp records, South Karelia had about 20.1 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 South Karelia?
Kp 5. South Karelia sits at geomagnetic latitude 58.1°, 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 South Karelia?
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 South Karelia never gets fully dark, so nothing is visible however strong the storm.
Where can you escape the light pollution near South Karelia?
The centre of South Karelia reads Bortle 7. The nearest sky at Bortle 4 is about 15 km north around Ruokolahti. On a marginal night that drive matters more than the forecast does.
Where is the nearest place to South Karelia with reliable aurora borealis?
Rovaniemi, Finland — 614 km north-north-west. It needs only Kp 3 and averages 171.4 viable nights a year against 20.1 in South Karelia.
Nearby towns
Forecasts for places within reach of South Karelia.
- 🇫🇮 Savonlinna - Finland87 km
- 🇫🇮 Mikkeli - Finland90 km
- 🇫🇮 Hamina - Finland92 km
- 🇫🇮 Kouvola - Finland99 km
- 🇫🇮 Anjala - Finland101 km
- 🇫🇮 Karhula - Finland106 km
- 🇫🇮 Kotka - Finland110 km
- 🇫🇮 Heinola - Finland131 km