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Thursday 29 October in Saariselkä, 16:35

Northern lights in Saariselkä

In Saariselkä the aurora can show from about Kp 3. 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 (99 % cloud cover even in the clearest hours), so the chance is low.

Chance tonightLowOvercast all night · 99 % cloud coverDarkness tonight12 hSunset 15:35Best nightNone yetA low chance for the nights the Kp forecast coversKp tonight2.3Visible here from Kp 3 · now 0.3
Sunrise 08:12Drag through the daySunset 15:35

Saariselkä and the northern lights

Saariselkä is in the municipality of Inari, Lappi, Finland. It lies at 68.4° N. What counts for the aurora is the magnetic latitude, 65.2° here: under the auroral oval. Here the aurora can show from about Kp 3, against Kp 7 in Helsinki. Activity was that high in 20% of the hours in 2014–2025.

It gets dark enough for the aurora from 28 August to 13 April, with up to 16 hours of proper darkness a day in midwinter. The polar night, when the sun does not rise, lasts from 6 December to 6 January. Counting the darkness, that makes about 520 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 Saariselkä, 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.

  1. 18:0099 %
  2. 19:0099 %
  3. 20:00100 %
  4. 21:00100 %
  5. 22:00100 %
  6. 23:00100 %
  7. 00:00100 %
  8. 01:00100 %
  9. 02:00100 %
  10. 03:00100 %
  11. 04:00100 %
  12. 05:00100 %
Dark enoughToo lightHigh chanceModerateLowMoonlight (83 % full) dims a faint auroraOvercast all night

The next seven nights in Saariselkä

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.

  1. tonightLow12 hours darkOvercast all night99 % cloud coverKp max 2.3
  2. tomorrowLow12 hours darkOvercast all night95 % cloud coverKp max 5.0
  3. the day after tomorrowLow12 hours darkOvercast all night94 % cloud coverKp max 4.5
  4. SundayModerate12 hours darkBest 02:00–04:003 % cloud coverKp about 3.5Rough guess from NOAA’s long-range outlook
  5. MondayLow12 hours darkOvercast all night91 % cloud coverKp about 2.5Rough guess from NOAA’s long-range outlook
  6. TuesdayLow12 hours darkBest 19:00–21:0024 % cloud coverKp about 2.0Rough guess from NOAA’s long-range outlook
  7. WednesdayLow12 hours darkBest 01:00–03:0064 % cloud coverKp about 2.5Rough guess from NOAA’s long-range outlook

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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 %
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When can you see the northern lights in Saariselkä?

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.

  1. 2.3 hJan
  2. 2.7 hFeb
  3. 1.9 hMar
  4. 0 hApr
  5. 0 hMay
  6. 0 hJun
  7. 0 hJul
  8. 0 hAug
  9. 1.6 hSep
  10. 2.5 hOct
  11. 3.0 hNov
  12. 3.2 hDec
Light or twilightDark enough (dark blue and green together)Of those, with enough activity (Kp 3 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 Saariselkä

Can I see the northern lights in Saariselkä today?

In Saariselkä the aurora can show from about Kp 3. 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 (99 % cloud cover even in the clearest hours), so the chance is low.

When is the northern lights season in Saariselkä?

In Saariselkä it gets dark enough for the aurora from 28 August to 13 April, with up to 16 hours of proper darkness a day in midwinter. The polar night, when the sun does not rise, lasts from 6 December to 6 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 Saariselkä?

In Saariselkä the aurora can show from about Kp 3, against Kp 7 in Helsinki. Activity was that high in 20% of the hours in 2014–2025. Counting the darkness, that makes about 520 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 Saariselkä?

It is darkest in December, with 16 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 6 h, Oct 10 h, Nov 14 h, Dec 16 h.

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