Photo: Kevin Lofthouse / Unsplash
Friday 30 October in Äkäslompolo, 00:00
Northern lights in Äkäslompolo
In Äkäslompolo the aurora can show from about Kp 3.5. Tonight's forecast is Kp 5.0, and right now it is 0.3. Tonight there are 12 hours of proper darkness. It looks best from 23:00 to 01:00, with 43 % cloud cover, so the chance is moderate.
Äkäslompolo and the northern lights
Äkäslompolo is in the municipality of Kolari, Lappi, Finland. It lies at 67.6° N. What counts for the aurora is the magnetic latitude, 64.9° here. Here the aurora can show from about Kp 3.5, against Kp 7 in Helsinki. Activity was that high in 10% of the hours in 2014–2025.
It gets dark enough for the aurora from 26 August to 16 April, with up to 16 hours of proper darkness a day in midwinter. The polar night, when the sun does not rise, lasts from 15 December to 28 December. Counting the darkness, that makes about 260 hours in a typical year with both darkness and enough activity, most of them in November. The clouds decide how many of them bring an aurora.
Tonight in Äkäslompolo, hour by hour
When it is dark enough, how cloudy it is, and the chance each hour from the Kp forecast and the cloud cover. Hours already gone have no forecast.
- 18:0047 %
- 19:0042 %
- 20:0025 %
- 21:0014 %
- 22:0016 %
- 23:0038 %
- 00:0048 %
- 01:0052 %
- 02:0067 %
- 03:0065 %
- 04:0088 %
- 05:0097 %
The next seven nights in Äkäslompolo
Darkness, cloud and the chance for each night. The Kp forecast reaches three nights; the dashed nights after rest on NOAA’s long-range outlook and are only a pointer.
- tonightModerate12 hours darkBest 23:00–01:0043 % cloud coverKp max 5.0
- tomorrowLow12 hours darkOvercast all night96 % cloud coverKp max 4.5
- the day after tomorrowHigh12 hours darkBest 19:00–21:006 % cloud coverKp about 3.5Rough guess from NOAA’s long-range outlook
- MondayLow12 hours darkBest 01:00–03:0075 % cloud coverKp about 2.5Rough guess from NOAA’s long-range outlook
- TuesdayLow12 hours darkBest 19:00–21:0056 % cloud coverKp about 2.0Rough guess from NOAA’s long-range outlook
- WednesdayLow12 hours darkBest 01:00–03:0034 % cloud coverKp about 2.5Rough guess from NOAA’s long-range outlook
- ThursdayLow12 hours darkBest 01:00–03:0042 % cloud coverKp about 3.0Rough guess from NOAA’s long-range outlook
Plan a trip to Äkäslompolo
The next four weeks, night by night: activity, darkness and moon
- 30 Oct–1 NovGood conditions · Kp ≈ 5.0 · moon 62 %
- 16 Nov–18 NovGood conditions · Kp ≈ 4.0 · moon 55 %
The aurora forecast for Äkäslompolo on your website
- Tonight's aurora chance in Äkäslompolo, with the best hours
- Updates itself every hour
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When can you see the northern lights in Äkäslompolo?
The aurora needs both darkness and enough activity on the sun. Each column is a day: dark blue is the hours that are dark enough, green those of them when activity has been high enough here, on average 2014–2025.
Best here: November, October and December. Activity peaks around the March and September equinoxes, the nights are longest in midwinter.
- 0.9 hJan
- 1.4 hFeb
- 1.2 hMar
- 0.1 hApr
- 0 hMay
- 0 hJun
- 0 hJul
- 0 hAug
- 1.0 hSep
- 1.4 hOct
- 1.5 hNov
- 1.4 hDec
Clouds are left out: on average cloud cover varies little from month to month, while it decides each single night. See the forecast above.
Questions about the northern lights in Äkäslompolo
Can I see the northern lights in Äkäslompolo today?
In Äkäslompolo the aurora can show from about Kp 3.5. Tonight's forecast is Kp 5.0, and right now it is 0.3. Tonight there are 12 hours of proper darkness. It looks best from 23:00 to 01:00, with 43 % cloud cover, so the chance is moderate.
When is the northern lights season in Äkäslompolo?
In Äkäslompolo it gets dark enough for the aurora from 26 August to 16 April, with up to 16 hours of proper darkness a day in midwinter. The polar night, when the sun does not rise, lasts from 15 December to 28 December. The best months are November, October and December, going by darkness and activity in 2014–2025.
What Kp do you need to see the northern lights in Äkäslompolo?
In Äkäslompolo the aurora can show from about Kp 3.5, against Kp 7 in Helsinki. Activity was that high in 10% of the hours in 2014–2025. Counting the darkness, that makes about 260 hours in a typical year with both darkness and enough activity, most of them in November. The clouds decide how many of them bring an aurora.
When is it darkest in Äkäslompolo?
It is darkest in January, with 15 hours on average per day. The whole year by month: Jan 15 h, Feb 12 h, Mar 9 h, Apr 1 h, May 0 h, Jun 0 h, Jul 0 h, Aug 0 h, Sep 6 h, Oct 10 h, Nov 14 h, Dec 15 h.