Thursday 29 October in Kontiolahti, 17:01

Northern lights in Kontiolahti

Q: When is the northern lights season in Kontiolahti?

In Kontiolahti it gets dark enough for the aurora every night except from 1 May to 10 August, with up to 15 hours of proper darkness a day in midwinter. The best months are September, November and October, going by darkness and activity in 2014–2025.

Q: What Kp do you need to see the northern lights in Kontiolahti?

In Kontiolahti the aurora can show from about Kp 6, against Kp 7 in Helsinki. Activity was that high in under 1% of the hours in 2014–2025. Counting the darkness, that makes about 16 hours in a typical year with both darkness and enough activity, most of them in September. The clouds decide how many of them bring an aurora.

Q: When is it darkest in Kontiolahti?

It is darkest in January, with 14 hours on average per day. The whole year by month: Jan 14 h, Feb 12 h, Mar 9 h, Apr 5 h, May 0 h, Jun 0 h, Jul 0 h, Aug 2 h, Sep 8 h, Oct 11 h, Nov 13 h, Dec 14 h.

In Kontiolahti the aurora can show from about Kp 6. Tonight's forecast is Kp 2.3, and right now it is 0.3. Tonight there are 12 hours of proper darkness. It looks overcast all night (93 % cloud cover even in the clearest hours), so the chance is low.

Updated 29 October at 23:12

Chance tonightLowOvercast all night · 93 % cloud cover Darkness tonight12 hSunset 16:01 Best nightNone yetA low chance for the nights the Kp forecast covers Kp tonight2.3Visible here from Kp 6 · now 0.3

Sunrise 07:27Drag through the daySunset 16:01

Kontiolahti and the northern lights

Kontiolahti is a municipality in Pohjois-Karjala, Finland, with 15,136 inhabitants. It is also officially called Kontiolax. The municipal centre lies at 62.8° N. What counts for the aurora is the magnetic latitude, 59.5° here. Here the aurora can show from about Kp 6, against Kp 7 in Helsinki. Activity was that high in under 1% of the hours in 2014–2025.

It gets dark enough for the aurora every night except from 1 May to 10 August, with up to 15 hours of proper darkness a day in midwinter. Counting the darkness, that makes about 16 hours in a typical year with both darkness and enough activity, most of them in September. The clouds decide how many of them bring an aurora.

Tonight in Kontiolahti, 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–
21:0093 %
22:0093 %
23:00100 %
00:00100 %
01:0089 %
02:0097 %
03:00100 %
04:00100 %
05:00100 %

Dark enoughToo lightHigh chanceModerateLowMoonlight (83 % full) dims a faint auroraOvercast all night

The next seven nights in Kontiolahti

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 darkOvercast all night93 % cloud coverKp max 2.3
tomorrowLow12 hours darkOvercast all night98 % cloud coverKp max 5.0
the day after tomorrowLow12 hours darkOvercast all night100 % cloud coverKp max 4.5
SundayLow12 hours darkOvercast all night100 % cloud coverKp about 3.5Rough guess from NOAA’s long-range outlook
MondayLow12 hours darkOvercast all night100 % cloud coverKp about 2.5Rough guess from NOAA’s long-range outlook
TuesdayLow12 hours darkOvercast all night95 % cloud coverKp about 2.0Rough guess from NOAA’s long-range outlook
WednesdayLow12 hours darkOvercast all night95 % cloud coverKp about 2.5Rough guess from NOAA’s long-range outlook

Plan a trip to Kontiolahti

The next four weeks, night by night: activity, darkness and moon

30 Oct–1 NovWeak · Kp ≈ 5.0 · moon 62 %

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When can you see the northern lights in Kontiolahti?

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.

Here it takes Kp 6 or more, which is rare: on average only a few minutes a night. The best chance is in September, November and October. Activity peaks around the March and September equinoxes, the nights are longest in midwinter.

<0.1 hJan
<0.1 hFeb
0.1 hMar
<0.1 hApr
0 hMay
0 hJun
0 hJul
<0.1 hAug
0.1 hSep
0.1 hOct
0.1 hNov
0.1 hDec

Light or twilightDark enough (dark blue and green together)Of those, with enough activity (Kp 6 or more), average 2014–2025Best months

Clouds are left out: on average cloud cover varies little from month to month, while it decides each single night. See the forecast above.

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Questions about the northern lights in Kontiolahti

Can I see the northern lights in Kontiolahti today?

When is the northern lights season in Kontiolahti?

In Kontiolahti it gets dark enough for the aurora every night except from 1 May to 10 August, with up to 15 hours of proper darkness a day in midwinter. The best months are September, November and October, going by darkness and activity in 2014–2025.

What Kp do you need to see the northern lights in Kontiolahti?

In Kontiolahti the aurora can show from about Kp 6, against Kp 7 in Helsinki. Activity was that high in under 1% of the hours in 2014–2025. Counting the darkness, that makes about 16 hours in a typical year with both darkness and enough activity, most of them in September. The clouds decide how many of them bring an aurora.

When is it darkest in Kontiolahti?

It is darkest in January, with 14 hours on average per day. The whole year by month: Jan 14 h, Feb 12 h, Mar 9 h, Apr 5 h, May 0 h, Jun 0 h, Jul 0 h, Aug 2 h, Sep 8 h, Oct 11 h, Nov 13 h, Dec 14 h.

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