YozoraAtlas

Where can you see the northern lights in Sweden?

All 88 places on Yozora Atlas in Sweden see the northern lights on their northern horizon in a storm of Kp 7 or less. 10 lie under the aurora’s usual ring, Vadvetjåkka National Park among them, where it shows on almost any clear, dark night. At the southern edge, in Malmö, it takes a moderate storm (Kp 6), about 14 nights a year. Those are nights with enough activity, not sightings: clouds and the moon hide many of them.

Kp 0 to 2Kp 3Kp 4Kp 5Kp 6Kp level that brings the aurora to the northern horizon
Night-lights map of Sweden with every place colored by the storm strength it needs to see the northern lights
  • Kp 0 to 2under the ring10 placesalmost every night
  • Kp 3an unsettled night11 places~185 nights a year
  • Kp 4an active night14 places~95 nights a year
  • Kp 5a minor storm38 places~39 nights a year
  • Kp 6a moderate storm15 places~14 nights a year

Which parts of Sweden see the northern lights most often?

Each county with the Kp range of its places, the nights a year its best place reaches that level, and the darkest place to watch from.

State or regionPlacesKp neededNights a yearDarkest place to watch from
Norrbotten9Kp 0 to 2365 nightsVadvetjåkka National ParkBortle 4, Kp 0
Västerbotten3Kp 2 to 3275 nightsBjörnlandet National ParkBortle 3, Kp 3
Dalarna4Kp 3 to 4185 nightsTöfsingdalen National ParkBortle 2, Kp 3
Gävleborg3Kp 3 to 4185 nightsHamra National ParkBortle 3, Kp 3
Jämtland2Kp 3185 nightsSonfjället National ParkBortle 3, Kp 3
Västernorrland4Kp 3185 nightsSkuleskogen National ParkBortle 4, Kp 3
Örebro3Kp 495 nightsGarphyttan National ParkBortle 4, Kp 4
Stockholm12Kp 4 to 595 nightsnone at Bortle 4 or darker
Uppsala3Kp 495 nightsFärnebofjärden National ParkBortle 4, Kp 4
Värmland1Kp 495 nightsnone at Bortle 4 or darker

The darkest places in Sweden to watch the northern lights

The towns in Sweden where the northern lights show most often

  1. Vadvetjåkka National Park Norrbotten · Bortle 4 · Kp 0365 nights
  2. Pieljekaise National Park Norrbotten · Bortle 2 · Kp 1345 nights
  3. Sarek National Park Norrbotten · Bortle 3 · Kp 1345 nights
  4. Stora Sjöfallet National Park Norrbotten · Bortle 3 · Kp 1345 nights
  5. Padjelanta National Park Norrbotten · Bortle 3 · Kp 1345 nights
  6. Muddus National Park Norrbotten · Bortle 3 · Kp 1345 nights
  7. Abisko National Park Norrbotten · Bortle 4 · Kp 1345 nights
  8. Töfsingdalen National Park Dalarna · Bortle 2 · Kp 3185 nights
  9. Hamra National Park Gävleborg · Bortle 3 · Kp 3185 nights
  10. Sonfjället National Park Jämtland · Bortle 3 · Kp 3185 nights
  1. Skellefteå Västerbotten · Kp 2275 nights
  2. Piteå Norrbotten · Kp 2275 nights
  3. Luleå Norrbotten · Kp 2275 nights
  4. Härnösand Västernorrland · Kp 3185 nights
  5. Örnsköldsvik Västernorrland · Kp 3185 nights
  6. Östersund Jämtland · Kp 3185 nights
  7. Sundsvall Västernorrland · Kp 3185 nights
  8. Umeå Västerbotten · Kp 3185 nights
  9. Enköping Uppsala · Kp 495 nights
  10. Sandviken Gävleborg · Kp 495 nights

Nights a year since 1932 with the Kp level the place needs, between 9 pm and 3 am. These are nights with enough activity, not sightings: clouds and the moon hide many of them, and away from the far north a display is often a faint glow low in the north that a phone camera shows better than the eye. From inside a town only bright displays show through the glow: each town page names the closest dark spot without the town in its northern sky.

When are the northern lights most likely in Sweden?

Averaged over the 88 places, the most nights with a strong enough storm during darkness come in March and September: geomagnetic storms are more frequent around the equinoxes, and the nights are long enough to see them. In June 82 of the 88 places have no night dark enough, the sun staying less than 12° below the horizon. Clouds are not counted here; each place page has its clear nights by month.

7.5Jan7.7Feb9.4Mar7.6Apr1.5May0.0Jun0.4Jul4.7Aug8.8Sep8.6Oct7.3Nov6.8Dec

How the Kp levels and night counts for Sweden are worked out

The aurora forms in a ring around the magnetic north pole, and the stronger a geomagnetic storm, the further south it reaches. Storm strength is measured by the Kp index, from 0 (quiet) to 9 (extreme). For each place the Kp level comes from its magnetic latitude, using the rule NOAA uses: the edge of the aurora sits at 66.5° magnetic latitude at Kp 0 and about 2° further south per step. It can be off by one level, and a phone camera often shows a display the eye barely sees. How often that level was reached comes from the Kp record of GFZ Potsdam, 1932 to 2025. None of this is a forecast: for tonight, see NOAA’s 30-minute aurora forecast. How it works