Photo: Dylan McLeod / Unsplash
Thursday 29 October in Kilpisjärvi, 16:56
Northern lights in Kilpisjärvi
In Kilpisjärvi the aurora can show from about Kp 2.5. Tonight's forecast is Kp 2.3, and right now it is 0.3. Tonight there are 12 hours of proper darkness. It looks best from 00:00 to 02:00, with 51 % cloud cover, so the chance is low.
Kilpisjärvi and the northern lights
Kilpisjärvi is in the municipality of Enontekiö, Lappi, Finland. It lies at 69.0° N. What counts for the aurora is the magnetic latitude, 66.7° here: under the auroral oval. Here the aurora can show from about Kp 2.5, against Kp 7 in Helsinki. Activity was that high in 26% of the hours in 2014–2025.
It gets dark enough for the aurora from 30 August to 12 April, with up to 16 hours of proper darkness a day in midwinter. The polar night, when the sun does not rise, lasts from 1 December to 10 January. Counting the darkness, that makes about 670 hours in a typical year with both darkness and enough activity, most of them in December. The clouds decide how many of them bring an aurora.
Tonight in Kilpisjärvi, 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.
- 18:00–
- 19:00–
- 20:00–
- 21:0096 %
- 22:0096 %
- 23:0083 %
- 00:0057 %
- 01:0044 %
- 02:0063 %
- 03:0048 %
- 04:0020 %
- 05:0022 %
The next seven nights in Kilpisjärvi
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.
- tonightLow12 hours darkBest 00:00–02:0051 % cloud coverKp max 2.3
- tomorrowLow12 hours darkBest 19:00–21:0067 % cloud coverKp max 5.0
- the day after tomorrowLow12 hours darkOvercast all night93 % cloud coverKp max 4.5
- SundayLow12 hours darkBest 02:00–04:0077 % cloud coverKp about 3.5Rough guess from NOAA’s long-range outlook
- MondayLow12 hours darkOvercast all night84 % cloud coverKp about 2.5Rough guess from NOAA’s long-range outlook
- TuesdayLow12 hours darkOvercast all night84 % cloud coverKp about 2.0Rough guess from NOAA’s long-range outlook
- WednesdayLow12 hours darkOvercast all night98 % cloud coverKp about 2.5Rough guess from NOAA’s long-range outlook
Plan a trip to Kilpisjärvi
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 Kilpisjärvi on your website
- Tonight's aurora chance in Kilpisjärvi, with the best hours
- Updates itself every hour
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- For cabins, hotels, campsites and tour operators
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When can you see the northern lights in Kilpisjärvi?
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: December, November and February. Activity peaks around the March and September equinoxes, the nights are longest in midwinter.
- 3.2 hJan
- 3.5 hFeb
- 2.4 hMar
- 0 hApr
- 0 hMay
- 0 hJun
- 0 hJul
- 0 hAug
- 1.7 hSep
- 3.4 hOct
- 4.0 hNov
- 4.0 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 Kilpisjärvi
Can I see the northern lights in Kilpisjärvi today?
In Kilpisjärvi the aurora can show from about Kp 2.5. Tonight's forecast is Kp 2.3, and right now it is 0.3. Tonight there are 12 hours of proper darkness. It looks best from 00:00 to 02:00, with 51 % cloud cover, so the chance is low.
When is the northern lights season in Kilpisjärvi?
In Kilpisjärvi it gets dark enough for the aurora from 30 August to 12 April, with up to 16 hours of proper darkness a day in midwinter. The polar night, when the sun does not rise, lasts from 1 December to 10 January. The best months are December, November and February, going by darkness and activity in 2014–2025.
What Kp do you need to see the northern lights in Kilpisjärvi?
In Kilpisjärvi the aurora can show from about Kp 2.5, against Kp 7 in Helsinki. Activity was that high in 26% of the hours in 2014–2025. Counting the darkness, that makes about 670 hours in a typical year with both darkness and enough activity, most of them in December. The clouds decide how many of them bring an aurora.
When is it darkest in Kilpisjärvi?
It is darkest in January, with 15 hours on average per day. The whole year by month: Jan 15 h, Feb 12 h, Mar 8 h, Apr 0 h, May 0 h, Jun 0 h, Jul 0 h, Aug 0 h, Sep 5 h, Oct 11 h, Nov 14 h, Dec 15 h.