Aurora Borealis in Västerbotten
Sweden · 64.29°, 20.61° · geomagnetic 62.2° · needs Kp 5
Tonight in Västerbotten
49%
Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Västerbotten needs Kp 5 to see anything at all, and tonight the forecast peaks at Kp 4.8. 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 Västerbotten
18.4 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 Västerbotten 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12.3 | 10.1 | 6.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5.1 | 9.1 | 11.8 | 12.9 |
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 Västerbotten horizon, so the sky never darkens fully. Plan around the darker half of the year.
Getting clear of the light
With 165,740 people around you, the sky over central Västerbotten is Bortle 4. The glow hides anything but the brightest display, so the drive out matters more here than the forecast does.
- 7 km south-west — around Robertsfors kommun → Bortle 4
- 7 km south-west — around Robertsfors kommun → 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 Västerbotten. 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 Västerbotten 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, 341 km north-east in Finland.
| Västerbotten | Rovaniemi | |
|---|---|---|
| Kp needed | 5 | 3 |
| Nights per year | 18.4 | 171.4 |
| Geomagnetic latitude | 62.2° | 63.6° |
Confirmed reports from this area
147 verified sightings were logged within 300 km of Västerbotten 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 Västerbotten
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 Västerbotten.
- Korpen — hill5.2 km north-north-west
- Trysjön — lake5.5 km east-north-east
- Trollberg — hill7.7 km north-west
- Ultervattsträsket — lake8.6 km east
- Lövselefjärden — bay31.1 km east
- Kräkångersfjärden — bay31.1 km east
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 Västerbotten 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 Västerbotten
All 2 places in Västerbotten with a forecast page, and the Kp each one needs.
- SkellefteåKp 5
- UmeåKp 5
Know when it is worth going outside
Revon watches the Västerbotten forecast and pushes an alert when the odds for tonight clear your threshold — no checking, no guessing.
Common questions about the aurora borealis in Västerbotten
Can you see the aurora borealis from Västerbotten?
Yes. On the last 10.0 years of NOAA Kp records, Västerbotten had about 18.4 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 Västerbotten?
Kp 5. Västerbotten sits at geomagnetic latitude 62.2°, 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 Västerbotten?
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 Västerbotten never gets fully dark, so nothing is visible however strong the storm.
Where can you escape the light pollution near Västerbotten?
The centre of Västerbotten reads Bortle 4. The nearest sky at Bortle 4 is about 7 km south-west around Robertsfors kommun. On a marginal night that drive matters more than the forecast does.
Where is the nearest place to Västerbotten with reliable aurora borealis?
Rovaniemi, Finland — 341 km north-east. It needs only Kp 3 and averages 171.4 viable nights a year against 18.4 in Västerbotten.
Nearby towns
Forecasts for places within reach of Västerbotten.
- 🇸🇪 Skellefteå - Sweden54 km
- 🇸🇪 Umeå - Sweden54 km
- 🇸🇪 Piteå - Sweden122 km
- 🇫🇮 Jakobstad - Finland123 km
- 🇫🇮 Kokkola - Finland133 km
- 🇫🇮 Korsholm - Finland141 km
- 🇫🇮 Vaasa - Finland142 km
- 🇸🇪 Örnsköldsvik - Sweden145 km