Photo: Kush Dwivedi / Unsplash
Friday 30 October in Riksgränsen, 00:00
Northern lights in Riksgränsen
In Riksgränsen the aurora can show from about Kp 2.5. Tonight's forecast is Kp 5.0, and right now it is 0.7. Tonight there are 12 hours of proper darkness. It looks overcast all night (86 % cloud cover even in the clearest hours), so the chance is low.
Riksgränsen and the northern lights
Riksgränsen is in the municipality of Kiruna, Norrbottens län, Sweden. It lies at 68.4° N. What counts for the aurora is the magnetic latitude, 66.5° here: under the auroral oval. Here the aurora can show from about Kp 2.5, against Kp 6.5 in Stockholm. Activity was that high in 26% 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 680 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 Riksgränsen, 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.
- 18:0099 %
- 19:0096 %
- 20:0092 %
- 21:0085 %
- 22:0087 %
- 23:0094 %
- 00:00100 %
- 01:00100 %
- 02:00100 %
- 03:00100 %
- 04:00100 %
- 05:00100 %
The next seven nights in Riksgränsen
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 night86 % cloud coverKp max 5.0
- tomorrowLow12 hours darkOvercast all night96 % cloud coverKp max 4.5
- the day after tomorrowLow12 hours darkOvercast all night82 % cloud coverKp about 3.5Rough guess from NOAA’s long-range outlook
- MondayLow12 hours darkOvercast all night99 % cloud coverKp about 2.5Rough guess from NOAA’s long-range outlook
- TuesdayLow12 hours darkOvercast all night100 % cloud coverKp about 2.0Rough guess from NOAA’s long-range outlook
- WednesdayLow12 hours darkOvercast all night100 % cloud coverKp about 2.5Rough guess from NOAA’s long-range outlook
- ThursdayLow12 hours darkOvercast all night99 % cloud coverKp about 3.0Rough guess from NOAA’s long-range outlook
Plan a trip to Riksgränsen
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 %
The aurora forecast for Riksgränsen on your website
- Tonight's aurora chance in Riksgränsen, with the best hours
- Updates itself every hour
- Free with no sign-up: you just copy the code
- For cabins, hotels, campsites and tour operators
- In English or Norwegian, for your guests
When can you see the northern lights in Riksgränsen?
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.
- 3.0 hJan
- 3.5 hFeb
- 2.4 hMar
- 0 hApr
- 0 hMay
- 0 hJun
- 0 hJul
- 0 hAug
- 2.1 hSep
- 3.4 hOct
- 3.7 hNov
- 4.3 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 Riksgränsen
Can I see the northern lights in Riksgränsen today?
In Riksgränsen the aurora can show from about Kp 2.5. Tonight's forecast is Kp 5.0, and right now it is 0.7. Tonight there are 12 hours of proper darkness. It looks overcast all night (86 % cloud cover even in the clearest hours), so the chance is low.
When is the northern lights season in Riksgränsen?
In Riksgränsen 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 Riksgränsen?
In Riksgränsen the aurora can show from about Kp 2.5, against Kp 6.5 in Stockholm. Activity was that high in 26% of the hours in 2014–2025. Counting the darkness, that makes about 680 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 Riksgränsen?
It is darkest in December, with 16 hours on average per day. The whole year by month: Jan 14 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 11 h, Nov 13 h, Dec 16 h.