Never Miss the
Northern Lights 🌌
We watch NOAA's Kp forecast, then check local darkness and forecast cloud cover for your selected city. If the sky window looks usable, you get an email — otherwise we stay quiet.
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Join thousands of aurora chasers getting real-time alerts
Current Aurora Conditions
How It Works
Simple, automatic, and based on real science.
We monitor NOAA
Our system checks NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center on the Kp forecast cadence, then looks for destination-specific alert thresholds.
We check local sky conditions
For your selected city, we suppress alerts when the window is daylight or the local cloud forecast is too blocked to be useful.
You get an email
We send an alert only when Kp, local darkness, and cloud cover line up near your selected city, with practical viewing guidance and destination links.
No hype alerts
Why we may stay quiet when Kp rises
A higher Kp number does not always mean your saved city has a useful viewing window. We only email when the forecast is relevant locally and conditions look reasonable enough to act on.
- ✓The Kp forecast rose, but not enough for your city threshold.
- ✓It is too bright outside: daylight, midnight sun, or strong twilight.
- ✓Forecast cloud cover makes viewing unlikely.
- ✓A similar alert was already sent recently.
- ✓Cooldown rules are active so we do not spam repeat alerts.
Sources: NOAA SWPC Kp forecast + Open-Meteo cloud forecasts. Alerts are planning signals, not promises: darkness, timing, location, and clear skies still matter.
What You Get
Subscribing gives you everything you need to plan around aurora activity — without obsessively refreshing space weather websites.
- 🌌City-aware Aurora AlertsEmail only when your selected city clears its Kp threshold and the local sky forecast looks usable.
- 📅Monthly ForecastsA curated look at upcoming solar activity, Coronal Mass Ejections, and the best viewing windows for the next 4 weeks.
- 📍Destination TipsPaired with each alert: which locations will see the best display, and how to find dark skies.
- 🔭Solar Cycle UpdatesWe're in Solar Cycle 25 peak (2024–2026) — the most active period in 20 years. We'll keep you posted on what that means for aurora chasers.
Get Aurora Alerts
Free · No spam · Kp + darkness + cloud checks
The Kp Index Explained
The planetary K-index (Kp) runs from 0 to 9 and is the standard measure of geomagnetic storm intensity. Our alerts use city-specific Kp thresholds, then filter for local darkness and cloud cover before emailing.
No auroral activity. Clear polar skies with no visible aurora at any latitude.
Aurora faint and only visible near the magnetic poles (above 72°N).
Faint auroras near the polar regions. Rarely visible in Norway or Iceland.
Weak aurora activity. Possible in northern Norway, Iceland, and Canada on dark, clear nights.
Good auroral activity. Visible from most aurora destinations — time to go outside!
G1 geomagnetic storm. Strong auroras visible as far south as southern Norway & Scotland.
G2 storm. Vivid auroras visible across Northern Europe, Canada, and northern USA.
G3 storm. Aurora may extend to central Europe, the UK, and the northern US.
G4 storm. Dramatic aurora visible from the mid-latitudes — Germany, France, northern US cities.
G5 storm — the strongest possible. Widespread aurora visible even from tropical latitudes. Extremely rare.
Sources: NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center + Open-Meteo local cloud forecast · Updated every 3 hours
Frequently Asked Questions
How often will I get emails?
We only send city-aware alerts when the Kp forecast clears the threshold for your chosen place and the local forecast looks usable — dark enough, with cloud cover low enough to justify checking the sky. If Kp is low, it is daylight, or clouds look too blocked, we stay quiet.
What is the Kp index?
The Kp (planetary K) index is a 0–9 scale that measures global geomagnetic activity, published every 3 hours by NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center. It's derived from 13 ground-based magnetometers around the world. Higher Kp = more aurora, visible at lower latitudes. We use Kp as the first filter, then check local darkness and forecast cloud cover before sending.
Where can I see aurora with Kp 5?
At Kp 5 (minor geomagnetic storm), the aurora oval expands significantly. You can expect visible auroras in northern Norway (Tromsø, Alta), all of Iceland, northern Finland and Sweden, most of Alaska, and northern Canada. With a really dark, clear sky, it may even be faintly visible in Scotland, northern England, and the northern US states.
Can I get alerts for a specific location?
Yes. Choose the city/destination you care about when subscribing. We only match subscribers to that selected city, use a stricter Kp threshold for places farther south, and suppress alerts when local darkness or cloud cover does not look usable.
Is this free?
Yes, completely free. We monitor NOAA's data around the clock and send alerts as a service to the polar travel community. You can unsubscribe at any time.
The next aurora could be tonight
Solar Cycle 25 is peaking right now — the most geomagnetically active period in two decades. Don't miss it. Sign up for free alerts and be the first to know when the sky lights up.
Already watching the skies? Explore the best aurora destinations →