Aurora Borealis in Turku

Finland · 60.45°, 22.27° · geomagnetic 58.4° · needs Kp 5

Tonight in Turku

38%

Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Turku 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.

Tonight Sun 02 Aug
38%
18
20
22
00
02
04
06
Tomorrow Mon 3 Aug
3%
Hour-by-hour for this night is in the app
Tuesday Tue 4 Aug
2%
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 Turku

Every night to come, scored the same way as tonight. The best of the open week is Sunday 2 Aug at 38%. One of the seven reaches the Kp 5 that Turku 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.

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

Sun 2
38%
Kp 5.7
Mon 3
3%
Kp 3.3
Tue 4
2%
Kp 2.0
Wed 5
11%
Kp 3.0
Thu 6
3%
Kp 3.0
Fri 7
3%
Kp 2.0
Sat 8
2%
Kp 2.0

Nights 8–30 unlock in the Revon app

See all 30 nights for Turku

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

How often the aurora borealis reaches Turku

20.6 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

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 Turku sees the aurora borealis most winters.

Hours of true darkness, month by month

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
12.110.27.62.80.00.00.00.06.29.411.612.6

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 Turku horizon, so the sky never darkens fully. Plan around the darker half of the year.

Getting clear of the light

With 195,301 people around you, the sky over central Turku is Bortle 9. The glow hides anything but the brightest display, so the drive out matters more here than the forecast does.

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 Turku. 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 Turku viewing season.

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, 694 km north-north-east in Finland.

TurkuRovaniemi
Kp needed53
Nights per year20.6 171.4
Geomagnetic latitude58.4° 63.6°

See the Rovaniemi forecast

Confirmed reports from this area

61 verified sightings were logged within 300 km of Turku 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 Turku

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 Turku.

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. Turku keeps its fortified past above ground, at Jäkärlän Kivikautinen Asuinpaikka, Turun Linna and Turku DGPS-Transmitter, and for a day when the cloud sits low, Turun Taidemuseo, Turun Tuomiokirkkomuseo and Sibelius-Museo 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

Staying central in Turku is fine for everything except the aurora itself — you will still need to drive out. If seeing it matters more than convenience, base yourself on the edge of town facing your dark spot.

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 Turku and the sky was dark enough to show it.

DatePeak
2026-03-24Kp 5.0
2026-03-23Kp 5.0
2026-03-22Kp 6.67
2026-03-21Kp 6.0
2026-03-20Kp 7.0

NOAA planetary Kp

Know when it is worth going outside

Revon watches the Turku 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 Turku

Can you see the aurora borealis from Turku?

Yes. On the last 10.0 years of NOAA Kp records, Turku had about 20.6 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 Turku?

Kp 5. Turku sits at geomagnetic latitude 58.4°, 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 Turku?

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 Turku never gets fully dark, so nothing is visible however strong the storm.

Where can you escape the light pollution near Turku?

The centre of Turku reads Bortle 9. The nearest sky at Bortle 4 is about 36 km north-north-west around Mynämäki. On a marginal night that drive matters more than the forecast does.

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

Rovaniemi, Finland — 694 km north-north-east. It needs only Kp 3 and averages 171.4 viable nights a year against 20.6 in Turku.

Nearby towns

Forecasts for places within reach of Turku.