Clouds over your viewing spot
Choose a spot to compare the next 12 hours.
Waiting for weather…
THE NEXT CHASE
Find a little darkness.
Follow the clear sky.
Choose a country, compare the clouds, and find a place to look up. This is the planning desk behind the photographs, with a live aurora model and weather forecasts to help you decide where to begin.
Northern cities, regions and viewing spots. Area pins are approximate forecast references; they do not confirm parking or safe access.
HOW WILL YOU GET THERE?
Showing all viewing spots.
See matching map pinsWalk estimates are one way from each card’s named starting point, not your hotel. Snow and ice can add time. Green pins: nearby walking options · violet pins: drive-first spots. Pins mark approximate viewing access locations, not surveyed parking bays.
Loading forecast sources…
Auto-checks every 3 minutes · click a country to check againWEATHER AT EVERY VIEWPOINT
Pack for the sky outside.
Local date and time at each spot, with the current-hour weather forecast. These are model forecasts, not live weather-station observations.
Checking local weather…
CONDITIONS & ACTIVITY · SOURCE TIMES BELOW
What the sky is doing.
Aurora near your spotsChecking…
Checking what this means…
Model signal is shown independently of cloud cover.Global activity · KpChecking…
Checking what this means…
Planetary geomagnetic activity, not local visibility.Is there a solar storm?Checking…
Checking what this means…
Current G scale, separate from solar radiation storms.Solar wind speedChecking…
Checking what this means…
Upstream measurements, not conditions at ground level.Magnetic direction · Bz / BtChecking…
Checking what this means…
A southward Bz can favour energy transfer; it is not a sighting guarantee.Aurora can be visible in Lapland without a major geomagnetic storm. A weak overhead model cell does not rule out aurora near the horizon. Kp, G scale and solar wind measurements describe different things and time periods.
Aurora modelChecking NOAAWaiting for model timestamp
Clearer forecast windowChecking the cloudsComparing marked areas over the next 12 hours
Moon illuminationCalculating…Calculated lunar illumination. The comparison also checks whether the moon is above each area’s horizon.
Forecasts are model estimates, not confirmed sightings. Markers distinguish local viewing spots and approximate regional forecast references. Area pins are not verified parking or access points. Darkness descriptions are qualitative, not measured light-pollution ratings. The map currently covers Iceland, Norway, Finland and Sweden. A clear forecast cannot guarantee aurora or safe access.
READ THE SKY AT A GLANCE
Your night, in pictures.
Live source data appears here. Observation charts look backwards; the cloud chart looks ahead. None is a guaranteed sighting probability.
Aurora activity · Kp trend
Observed 3-hour Kp intervals over the last 48 hours · global activity, not local brightness.
Loading NOAA observations…
Solar wind · rises and falls
Active spacecraft measurements over the last 3 hours. Faster wind alone does not guarantee aurora.
Loading solar wind…
Magnetic field · Bz
Last 3 hours · negative Bz is southward and can support stronger coupling. It does not predict a display by itself.
Loading magnetic field…
Sources, times and what the visuals mean
NOAA SWPC supplies Kp, solar wind, magnetic field and the auroral model. MET Norway or Open-Meteo supplies weather. Sun and moon positions are calculated locally. Each chart shows its time range; missing observations leave gaps. Cloud cover is the forecast proportion of sky covered, not a percentage chance of aurora. The planning score combines weather, darkness, moonlight and the near-term aurora model; it is not calibrated against confirmed sightings.
WHERE TO TRY · NEAR TERM
Comparing the sky…
Cloud layers, darkness, moon altitude, wind and the local auroral model are being compared.
How this recommendation works
We compare the marked areas only, not every location in the country. The near term shortlist uses weather within 30 minutes of NOAA’s model time, at most 90 minutes ahead. Sun and moon positions come from SunCalc. Cloud, darkness, moon contrast and wind are combined with the nearest NOAA grid value. The score is an uncalibrated planning heuristic, never a percentage chance of seeing aurora. Heavy cloud, bright twilight, precipitation or strong wind blocks a positive suggestion. No road safety or live sighting data is included.
The later window below ranks weather and darkness over 12 hours. It makes no prediction of auroral activity that far ahead. Access notes describe local lights and approximate travel; the forecast score does not model terrain, actual walking routes or driving time. Check access and official warnings before travelling.
PLAN AHEAD · WEATHER ONLY
Later clear sky windows
Looking for darkness and clearer clouds over the next 12 hours. Aurora activity must be checked again nearer the time.
A PLACE TO START
Choose your patch of sky.
The interactive map is loading. Viewing areas and Google Maps links are also listed beside it.
More favourable comparisonLimited conditionsWeather unavailable
The optional NOAA layer shows model grid intensity, not confirmed sightings. The map updates its area colours after forecasts load.
Area markers are approximate planning references. Use Google Maps to inspect access and parking. Respect closures, private land, tide restrictions and road conditions. No live sighting reports have been added.
MOON MAP · SELECTED VIEWING SPOT
Where is the moon?
Choose a map pin to calculate the moon direction.
The line points towards the moon from your spot. It is a compass bearing, not a route or a place to travel to. Hills and trees can block the actual horizon.
WINDOWS INTO THE NORTH
Watch the sky, right here.
Live-provider players; press play if needed. Check the camera’s displayed time. Snow, daylight, clouds or an offline feed can hide the sky; no aurora detection is inferred from these videos.
FINLAND · ROVANIEMI
Santa Claus Village · Arctic Circle
City of Rovaniemi · village-square camera, not an all-sky aurora camera. Official camera / fallback
SWEDEN · ABISKO
Lights Over Lapland · northwest sky
Lights Over Lapland · direct provider player. Official cameras / fallback
ICELAND
Landhotel · second sky view
Landhotel · southern Iceland · provider live-camera player · Official source / player fallback
NORWAY
Spåkenes · Lyngenfjord sky
Spåkenes · stream listed by Visit Lyngenfjord · Official source / player fallback
FINLAND
Rovaniemi · aurora all-sky view
Aurora Alert Realtime · Rovaniemi sky camera · Official source / player fallback
READ THE SKY TOGETHER
Aurora above. Clouds below.
The northern auroral oval
NOAA OVATION models auroral location and intensity. It usually offers about 30 to 90 minutes of lead time; fallback inputs can remove that lead. It does not include local cloud cover, landscape or your eyesight. Read the timestamp on the image.
Open NOAA forecastWatch the cloud gaps move
Use Windy’s time controls to compare cloud movement. Surface wind direction in the table is where the wind comes from; it is not a prediction of how every cloud layer will move.
Open cloud mapLOCAL OUTLOOK
The next twelve hours.
Times use the selected location’s time zone. Darkness here means the model labels the hour as night; twilight may still be too bright. Cloud cover percentages describe forecast sky coverage, not your chance of seeing aurora.
Choose an area to see the current hour weather forecast and moon position.
Select a viewing area to see the hourly outlook.
ROY’S WAY OF LOOKING
The numbers start the evening. Patience makes it.
Find a gap
Compare low, middle and high clouds, then watch the next few forecast hours. A small clear patch nearby can be more useful than a bigger activity number under solid cloud.
Work with the moon
Moonlight can soften a faint display and illuminate a beautiful foreground. Check whether the moon is above the horizon. A bright moon is not an automatic reason to stay inside.
Give it time
Find legal, safe access away from bright lamps and let your eyes adjust. Keep checking the sky between pictures. If you drive, check local warnings and the return journey before setting out.
WHEN THE SKY BECOMES A MEMORY
Then comes the story.
The forecasts help me choose a direction. What happens out there is why I keep coming back.
Sources: NOAA SWPC, weather by MET Norway and Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0), cloud map by Windy, maps © OpenStreetMap contributors, map interface Leaflet. Weather is requested on country selection and cached for up to five minutes; refresh does not bypass provider cache. If a source fails or is stale, its values are not presented as current. Sun and moon positions use SunCalc 1.9.0, © Vladimir Agafonkin, BSD 2 Clause. Calculations are approximate and do not include terrain. No geolocation permission is requested.