Will I See / Best places
Best places to see the northern lights, by month
Ranked by the share of 4-night stays that saw auroras at least once, 2015–2025. Tap a month.
| Place | 4 nights | 1 night | Clear & dark / night |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Inuvik Canada | 100% | 72% | 5.2 h |
| 2Coldfoot United States | 96% | 69% | 8.3 h |
| 3Iqaluit Canada | 95% | 61% | 4.4 h |
| 4Kangerlussuaq Greenland | 94% | 57% | 4.0 h |
| 5Churchill Canada | 94% | 55% | 4.5 h |
| 6Ilulissat Greenland | 91% | 52% | 3.9 h |
| 7Yellowknife Canada | 91% | 55% | 4.4 h |
| 8Dawson City Canada | 85% | 49% | 6.2 h |
| 9Utsjoki Finland | 82% | 40% | 3.4 h |
| 10Nuuk Greenland | 82% | 48% | 4.6 h |
| 11Chena Hot Springs United States | 81% | 47% | 6.4 h |
| 12Kilpisjärvi Finland | 79% | 39% | 3.7 h |
| 13Alta Norway | 77% | 36% | 2.9 h |
| 14Abisko Sweden | 77% | 37% | 4.1 h |
| 15North Cape Norway | 76% | 35% | 2.7 h |
| 16Hammerfest Norway | 75% | 35% | 2.8 h |
| 17Lofoten Norway | 73% | 35% | 3.8 h |
| 18Fairbanks United States | 71% | 36% | 5.1 h |
| 19Tromsø Norway | 70% | 34% | 2.9 h |
| 20Senja Norway | 69% | 31% | 3.1 h |
| 21Narvik Norway | 68% | 32% | 3.6 h |
| 22Saariselkä Finland | 67% | 30% | 3.6 h |
| 23Inari Finland | 67% | 30% | 3.6 h |
| 24Kiruna Sweden | 65% | 28% | 4.0 h |
| 25Jukkasjärvi Sweden | 65% | 28% | 4.0 h |
| 26Reykjavík Iceland | 65% | 28% | 4.3 h |
| 27Þingvellir Iceland | 65% | 28% | 4.2 h |
| 28Akureyri Iceland | 64% | 27% | 2.9 h |
| 29Jokkmokk Sweden | 63% | 28% | 4.3 h |
| 30Höfn Iceland | 63% | 28% | 5.0 h |
| 31Húsavík Iceland | 61% | 22% | 2.3 h |
| 32Whitehorse Canada | 61% | 27% | 4.5 h |
| 33Ísafjörður Iceland | 60% | 22% | 1.8 h |
| 34Kirkenes Norway | 59% | 24% | 2.0 h |
| 35Muonio Finland | 56% | 24% | 3.3 h |
| 36Bodø Norway | 56% | 23% | 3.2 h |
| 37Vík Iceland | 53% | 22% | 5.0 h |
| 38Levi Finland | 51% | 21% | 3.0 h |
| 39Ylläs Finland | 51% | 21% | 3.0 h |
| 40Luosto Finland | 48% | 18% | 2.9 h |
| 41Sodankylä Finland | 48% | 18% | 2.9 h |
| 42Rovaniemi Finland | 44% | 17% | 3.2 h |
| 43Ruka Finland | 40% | 14% | 2.4 h |
| 44Talkeetna United States | 40% | 15% | 5.9 h |
| 45Luleå Sweden | 36% | 15% | 3.5 h |
| 46Kemi Finland | 30% | 11% | 2.4 h |
| 47Anchorage United States | 29% | 12% | 5.7 h |
| 48Trondheim Norway | 25% | 8% | 2.4 h |
| 49Oulu Finland | 23% | 8% | 2.4 h |
| 50Edmonton Canada | 21% | 7% | 3.1 h |
| 51Tórshavn Faroe Islands | 15% | 5% | 2.0 h |
| 52Jasper Canada | 12% | 4% | 2.8 h |
| 53Shetland United Kingdom | 10% | 3% | 2.5 h |
| 54Banff Canada | 6% | 2% | 4.3 h |
| 55Oslo Norway | 5% | 1% | 2.4 h |
| 56Helsinki Finland | 4% | 1% | 2.1 h |
| 57Grand Marais United States | 4% | 2% | 3.1 h |
| 58Marquette United States | 4% | 1% | 2.5 h |
| 59Orkney United Kingdom | 2% | 1% | 2.4 h |
| 60Caithness United Kingdom | 2% | 1% | 2.4 h |
| 61Inverness United Kingdom | 2% | 1% | 3.8 h |
| 62Aberdeen United Kingdom | 2% | 0% | 4.3 h |
| 63Edinburgh United Kingdom | 2% | 1% | 4.1 h |
| 64Stockholm Sweden | 1% | 0% | 1.3 h |
| 65Isle of Skye United Kingdom | 1% | 0% | 2.2 h |
| 66Malin Head Ireland | 0% | 0% | 1.3 h |
Every place, every month
4-night odds. A dash means the nights are too light. On a phone, use the month buttons above for August and April.
Finland
| Place | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rovaniemi | – | 43% | 43% | 44% | 50% | 58% | 59% | 59% | 54% |
| Levi | – | 53% | 54% | 51% | 55% | 70% | 72% | 78% | 61% |
| Ylläs | – | 53% | 54% | 51% | 55% | 70% | 72% | 78% | 63% |
| Saariselkä | – | 59% | 73% | 67% | 71% | 81% | 80% | 84% | 58% |
| Inari | – | 59% | 73% | 67% | 71% | 82% | 80% | 83% | – |
| Kilpisjärvi | – | 67% | 79% | 79% | 80% | 84% | 86% | 77% | – |
| Utsjoki | – | 73% | 85% | 82% | 85% | 91% | 87% | 88% | – |
| Muonio | – | 57% | 62% | 56% | 52% | 74% | 73% | 78% | 63% |
| Luosto | – | 52% | 46% | 48% | 57% | 68% | 65% | 69% | 51% |
| Sodankylä | – | 51% | 45% | 48% | 57% | 68% | 65% | 69% | 53% |
| Ruka | – | 43% | 38% | 40% | 44% | 58% | 54% | 56% | 45% |
| Kemi | – | 45% | 44% | 30% | 41% | 47% | 50% | 53% | 46% |
| Oulu | – | 37% | 33% | 23% | 34% | 36% | 38% | 45% | 36% |
| Helsinki | 9% | 8% | 7% | 4% | 3% | 2% | 5% | 14% | 6% |
Norway
| Place | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tromsø | – | 63% | 68% | 70% | 67% | 75% | 75% | 56% | – |
| Senja | – | 62% | 73% | 69% | 66% | 80% | 73% | 67% | – |
| Alta | – | 71% | 79% | 77% | 78% | 88% | 84% | 83% | – |
| Hammerfest | – | 62% | 74% | 75% | 73% | 76% | 74% | 61% | – |
| North Cape | – | 64% | 75% | 76% | 76% | 85% | 82% | 70% | – |
| Kirkenes | – | 66% | 62% | 59% | 69% | 82% | 77% | 77% | – |
| Lofoten | – | 69% | 74% | 73% | 72% | 82% | 81% | 68% | 53% |
| Narvik | – | 63% | 72% | 68% | 61% | 76% | 75% | 62% | 47% |
| Bodø | – | 60% | 63% | 56% | 51% | 61% | 63% | 62% | 54% |
| Trondheim | 14% | 26% | 29% | 25% | 19% | 16% | 24% | 21% | 11% |
| Oslo | 7% | 10% | 5% | 5% | 6% | 2% | 5% | 11% | 4% |
Sweden
| Place | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abisko | – | 65% | 76% | 77% | 71% | 85% | 84% | 83% | 56% |
| Kiruna | – | 61% | 72% | 65% | 65% | 77% | 77% | 84% | 67% |
| Jukkasjärvi | – | 61% | 72% | 65% | 65% | 77% | 77% | 84% | 67% |
| Jokkmokk | – | 58% | 63% | 63% | 58% | 71% | 73% | 79% | 59% |
| Luleå | – | 42% | 42% | 36% | 42% | 40% | 49% | 45% | 30% |
| Stockholm | 3% | 4% | 2% | 1% | 2% | 0% | 2% | 9% | 3% |
Iceland
| Place | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reykjavík | 44% | 57% | 68% | 65% | 69% | 65% | 68% | 59% | 49% |
| Þingvellir | 43% | 57% | 68% | 65% | 69% | 65% | 68% | 59% | 50% |
| Vík | 31% | 44% | 58% | 53% | 48% | 48% | 55% | 52% | 34% |
| Höfn | 31% | 50% | 67% | 63% | 64% | 68% | 71% | 71% | 48% |
| Akureyri | – | 58% | 69% | 64% | 69% | 63% | 73% | 69% | 50% |
| Húsavík | – | 54% | 60% | 61% | 57% | 56% | 64% | 67% | 57% |
| Ísafjörður | – | 48% | 54% | 60% | 55% | 52% | 59% | 62% | 47% |
Greenland
| Place | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kangerlussuaq | – | 83% | 95% | 94% | 95% | 98% | 98% | 97% | 90% |
| Nuuk | 77% | 88% | 85% | 82% | 89% | 80% | 87% | 89% | 67% |
| Ilulissat | – | 87% | 95% | 91% | 93% | 92% | 92% | 91% | – |
Faroe Islands
| Place | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tórshavn | 7% | 14% | 23% | 15% | 15% | 11% | 18% | 15% | 9% |
United Kingdom
| Place | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shetland | 5% | 8% | 5% | 10% | 4% | 3% | 3% | 11% | 6% |
| Orkney | 3% | 4% | 5% | 2% | 2% | 2% | 2% | 6% | 3% |
| Caithness | 1% | 2% | 4% | 2% | 2% | 0% | 0% | 6% | 1% |
| Isle of Skye | 0% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 3% |
| Inverness | 0% | 3% | 4% | 2% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 1% |
| Aberdeen | 0% | 1% | 0% | 2% | 2% | 0% | 0% | 4% | 0% |
| Edinburgh | 0% | 2% | 3% | 2% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Ireland
| Place | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malin Head | 0% | 0% | 2% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 1% | 0% |
Canada
| Place | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yellowknife | 91% | 94% | 86% | 91% | 97% | 99% | 100% | 99% | 91% |
| Inuvik | – | 75% | 85% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 99% | – |
| Whitehorse | 33% | 55% | 52% | 61% | 67% | 61% | 70% | 73% | 43% |
| Dawson City | 49% | 67% | 75% | 85% | 89% | 92% | 94% | 91% | 79% |
| Churchill | 91% | 92% | 90% | 94% | 92% | 98% | 99% | 98% | 83% |
| Iqaluit | 83% | 92% | 89% | 95% | 98% | 100% | 100% | 98% | 87% |
| Jasper | 12% | 11% | 10% | 12% | 8% | 7% | 11% | 15% | 15% |
| Banff | 8% | 11% | 10% | 6% | 3% | 3% | 8% | 10% | 5% |
| Edmonton | 24% | 35% | 31% | 21% | 22% | 19% | 29% | 21% | 22% |
United States
| Place | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairbanks | 25% | 49% | 66% | 71% | 79% | 89% | 87% | 74% | 61% |
| Chena Hot Springs | 37% | 65% | 76% | 81% | 85% | 94% | 93% | 85% | 77% |
| Coldfoot | – | 76% | 90% | 96% | 97% | 98% | 99% | 97% | 89% |
| Talkeetna | 13% | 25% | 45% | 40% | 39% | 44% | 45% | 47% | 32% |
| Anchorage | 8% | 16% | 35% | 29% | 30% | 28% | 41% | 35% | 21% |
| Grand Marais | 7% | 13% | 5% | 4% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 9% | 5% |
| Marquette | 5% | 12% | 4% | 4% | 0% | 0% | 1% | 4% | 4% |
Southern hemisphere (aurora australis)
Tasmania and the south of New Zealand only see the aurora australis during strong storms: about 2 good night a year at best. Their pages show the live forecast.
Questions people ask
By the numbers: northern Canada (Yellowknife, Churchill), interior Alaska (Coldfoot, Fairbanks) and western Greenland (Kangerlussuaq), where 4-night stays saw auroras 100–100% of the time. In Europe: Swedish Lapland (Abisko 85%), northern Norway (Alta 88%) and Finnish Lapland's north (Utsjoki, Kilpisjärvi).
The auroras are similar; the clouds are not. Inland northern Finland and Sweden are drier than the Norwegian coast and Iceland. Example, 4 nights in February: Kilpisjärvi 86%, Tromsø 75%, Reykjavík 68%.