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Thursday 29 October in Hammerfest, 15:29

Northern lights in Hammerfest

In Hammerfest the aurora can show from about Kp 2. Tonight's forecast is Kp 2.3, and right now it is 0.3. Tonight there are 11 hours of proper darkness. It looks overcast all night (93 % cloud cover even in the clearest hours), so the chance is low. The best of the next seven nights looks like tomorrow.

Chance tonightLowOvercast all night · 93 % cloud coverDarkness tonight11 hSunset 14:29Best nighttomorrowChance: HighKp tonight2.3Visible here from Kp 2 · now 0.3
Sunrise 07:47Drag through the daySunset 14:29

Hammerfest and the northern lights

Hammerfest is a municipality in Finnmark, Norway, with 11,391 inhabitants. It is also officially called Hámmerfeasta. The municipal centre lies at 70.7° N, 34 metres above sea level. What counts for the aurora is the magnetic latitude, 67.8° here: under the auroral oval. Here the aurora can show from about Kp 2, against Kp 6 in Oslo. Activity was that high in 43% of the hours in 2014–2025.

It gets dark enough for the aurora from 3 September to 7 April, with up to 17 hours of proper darkness a day in midwinter. The polar night, when the sun does not rise, lasts from 22 November to 19 January. Counting the darkness, that makes about 1,070 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 Hammerfest, 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. 18:00–
  2. 19:0095 %
  3. 20:0095 %
  4. 21:0097 %
  5. 22:00100 %
  6. 23:0099 %
  7. 00:0092 %
  8. 01:0094 %
  9. 02:0098 %
  10. 03:0098 %
  11. 04:0096 %
  12. 05:0096 %
Dark enoughToo lightHigh chanceModerateLowMoonlight (82 % full) dims a faint auroraOvercast all night

The next seven nights in Hammerfest

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. tonightLow11 hours darkOvercast all night93 % cloud coverKp max 2.3
  2. tomorrowHigh11 hours darkBest 19:00–21:009 % cloud coverKp max 5.0
  3. the day after tomorrowModerate11 hours darkBest 01:00–03:0037 % cloud coverKp max 4.5
  4. SundayModerate12 hours darkBest 01:00–03:0063 % cloud coverKp about 3.5Rough guess from NOAA’s long-range outlook
  5. MondayLow12 hours darkOvercast all night96 % cloud coverKp about 2.5Rough guess from NOAA’s long-range outlook
  6. TuesdayLow12 hours darkOvercast all night84 % cloud coverKp about 2.0Rough guess from NOAA’s long-range outlook
  7. WednesdayLow12 hours darkOvercast all night90 % cloud coverKp about 2.5Rough guess from NOAA’s long-range outlook

Plan a trip to Hammerfest

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

  • 30 Oct–1 NovGood conditions · Kp ≈ 5.0 · moon 61 %
  • 16 Nov–18 NovGood conditions · Kp ≈ 4.0 · moon 56 %
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When can you see the northern lights in Hammerfest?

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 January. Activity peaks around the March and September equinoxes, the nights are longest in midwinter.

  1. 5.8 hJan
  2. 5.5 hFeb
  3. 3.3 hMar
  4. 0 hApr
  5. 0 hMay
  6. 0 hJun
  7. 0 hJul
  8. 0 hAug
  9. 2.6 hSep
  10. 4.7 hOct
  11. 6.1 hNov
  12. 7.4 hDec
Light or twilightDark enough (dark blue and green together)Of those, with enough activity (Kp 2 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.

Places nearby

All municipalities in Finnmark →

Questions about the northern lights in Hammerfest

Can I see the northern lights in Hammerfest today?

In Hammerfest the aurora can show from about Kp 2. Tonight's forecast is Kp 2.3, and right now it is 0.3. Tonight there are 11 hours of proper darkness. It looks overcast all night (93 % cloud cover even in the clearest hours), so the chance is low. The best of the next seven nights looks like tomorrow.

When is the northern lights season in Hammerfest?

In Hammerfest it gets dark enough for the aurora from 3 September to 7 April, with up to 17 hours of proper darkness a day in midwinter. The polar night, when the sun does not rise, lasts from 22 November to 19 January. The best months are December, November and January, going by darkness and activity in 2014–2025.

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

In Hammerfest the aurora can show from about Kp 2, against Kp 6 in Oslo. Activity was that high in 43% of the hours in 2014–2025. Counting the darkness, that makes about 1,070 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 Hammerfest?

It is darkest in December, with 17 hours on average per day. The whole year by month: Jan 15 h, Feb 12 h, Mar 7 h, Apr 0 h, May 0 h, Jun 0 h, Jul 0 h, Aug 0 h, Sep 5 h, Oct 10 h, Nov 14 h, Dec 17 h.

Frequently asked questions →