Will I see the northern lights in Oslo tonight?
Probably not
Skies look partly clear, but auroras are forecast to be quiet: Kp 2.0, and Oslo needs about Kp 5.3.
Hour by hour tonight
Loading tonight's hours…
Times are local (Europe/Oslo). Only hours with the sun below −6° are shown. Kp forecast: NOAA SWPC. Clouds: MET Norway.
Planning a trip to Oslo?
Auroras in Oslo need a geomagnetic storm (about Kp 5.3). In 2015–2025 that lined up with a clear, dark sky on about 5 nights a year, so treat a sighting here as a bonus, not a plan.
Chance on a 4-night stay, week by week
By month
| Month | Dark / night | Clear & dark | 1 night | 3 nights | 4 nights | 7 nights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August | 4.2 h | 1.8 h | 1% | 4% | 7% | 12% |
| September | 8.0 h | 2.0 h | 3% | 8% | 10% | 16% |
| October | 10.8 h | 2.8 h | 1% | 4% | 5% | 9% |
| November | 13.1 h | 2.4 h | 1% | 4% | 5% | 8% |
| December | 14.0 h | 2.3 h | 1% | 5% | 6% | 10% |
| January | 13.7 h | 3.1 h | 1% | 2% | 2% | 4% |
| February | 11.6 h | 3.0 h | 1% | 4% | 5% | 10% |
| March | 9.1 h | 2.9 h | 3% | 8% | 11% | 17% |
| April | 5.6 h | 1.9 h | 1% | 3% | 4% | 7% |
"Clear & dark" = average hours per night with the sun below −12° and mostly clear sky. Odds = share of stays with at least one clear, dark hour when auroras were strong enough here.
Chance of at least one clear, dark night with auroras strong enough to see, from what really happened in the same week in each of 11 years.
Every night you could have seen them, 2015–2025
51 nights in 11 years were clear and dark in Oslo while auroras reached far enough, by our estimate from NASA cloud data and the Kp record. The strongest: 16 Sep 2024 (Kp 7.3).
- 16 Apr Kp 6
- 15 Aug Kp 5.3
- 27 Aug Kp 5.3
- 7 Sep Kp 6.3
- 20 Dec Kp 6.7
- 20 Jan Kp 5.7
- 16 Feb Kp 5.3
- 17 Feb Kp 5.7
- 15 Mar Kp 5.3
- 7 May Kp 5.7
- 8 May Kp 6.3
- 23 Aug Kp 5.3
- 1 Sep Kp 6
- 1 Mar Kp 5.3
- 21 Mar Kp 5.3
- 27 Mar Kp 5.3
- 12 Sep Kp 5.3
- 15 Sep Kp 5.3
- 27 Sep Kp 5.3
- 14 Oct Kp 5.3
- 28 Feb Kp 5.7
- 11 Oct Kp 6
- 3 Nov Kp 6.3
- 30 Nov Kp 5.3
- 5 Mar Kp 5.3
- 3 Oct Kp 5.7
- 27 Feb Kp 6
- 14 Mar Kp 5.7
- 15 Mar Kp 5.7
- 25 Nov Kp 6.3
- 1 Dec Kp 5.3
- 17 Dec Kp 5.3
- 11 Aug Kp 6.7
- 17 Aug Kp 5.3
- 12 Sep Kp 5.3
- 13 Sep Kp 6
- 16 Sep Kp 7.3
- 16 Dec Kp 5.3
- 4 Jan Kp 5.3
- 8 Mar Kp 5.7
- 13 Mar Kp 5.3
- 21 Mar Kp 5.7
- 4 Apr Kp 5.7
- 5 Apr Kp 5.3
- 16 Apr Kp 5.3
- 2 May Kp 5.3
- 14 Sep Kp 6.7
- 1 Oct Kp 6.3
- 18 Oct Kp 6.3
- 12 Nov Kp 5.7
- 10 Dec Kp 6
A "night you could have seen them" = at least one hour that was dark, mostly clear and with Kp at or above the Kp 5.3 that Oslo needs. Look north, low on the horizon, away from town lights: the northern lights here are usually a glow that a phone camera picks up better than your eyes.
Better odds nearby
Places within 700 km of Oslo with more good nights a year.
Oslo northern lights: questions
Rarely. Oslo sits at 56.9° magnetic latitude, so auroras need about Kp 5.3, which means a geomagnetic storm. In 2015–2025 it averaged 5 nights a year with a clear, dark sky and auroras strong enough to see.
There is no reliable season: auroras this far south come with strong geomagnetic storms, which can happen in any dark month. Watch the live forecast and the Kp index instead of planning a trip around them.
About Kp 5.3. We worked that out from Oslo's magnetic latitude (56.9°) with a rule calibrated against the Finnish Meteorological Institute's sighting statistics. Look north, low on the horizon, away from town lights.
Every 10 minutes we take NOAA's Kp forecast and MET Norway's hourly cloud forecast for Oslo, add the sun and moon, and score each hour of tonight. The verdict is the best hour. How it works explains the calibration.