Northern Lights forecast
Tonight, Friday, October 23, 2026
Tonight = the dark hours still ahead (04–09, Iceland time). Each area's verdict is its best two dark hours in a row; “blocking” is the share of sky the forecast cloud blocks. NOAA SWPC Kp, ECMWF cloud via Open-Meteo.
Kp forecast
NOAA SWPC. “Tonight” is the highest 3-hour Kp forecast for 18:00–06:00; the verdict above uses the forecast for each hour. Tomorrow and Day 3 are daily maxima.
Right now: Kp 2.8, climbing toward tonight's forecast peak of 3.7.
Last night (12h tracked): Kp peaked at 4.7 - an active night - visible from dark locations wherever skies were clear.
Tonight's sky, area by area
Whole nightColour: tonight's verdict for each area, from its best two dark hours in a row. The same verdicts as the list below.
- Good shot
- Maybe
- Unlikely
- No cloud data
- % = blocking cloud
Showing the whole night. Choose “Hour by hour” to step through it (Iceland time).
Oval nowcast, next 30-90 min
Green: where NOAA expects aurora overhead now. Iceland in white.
Your location is used on this device only and is never sent to us.
Each area takes the forecast for its named town, so conditions a few valleys away can differ. Cloud: ECMWF via Open-Meteo. Kp and the oval: NOAA SWPC. Coastline © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Where to chase tonight
Tonight, dark hours 04–09. Kp is forecast for the whole country, so each area's cloud, darkness and moon decide. Hours shown are each area's best stretch; % is blocking cloud. City lights hide faint aurora.
- 1AkureyriClear 04–07 · 2% blockingGood shot
- 2VíkClear 04–07 · 4% blockingGood shot
- 3ReykjavíkClear 04–07 · 15% blockingGood shot
- 4MývatnHigh thin cloud 04–07 · 18% blockingGood shot
- 5EgilsstaðirHigh thin cloud 04–07 · 25% blockingGood shot
- 6ÍsafjörðurBroken cloud 04–06 · 47% blocking, needs Kp 4.0Maybe
Planning a trip rather than heading out tonight? See the month-by-month darkness guide for which weeks give you the best odds.
Get emailed about the aurora
Aurora alerts ride on the Trip Pass, tuned to where you are sleeping each night. See what triggers each one →
Evening aurora forecasts and the instant aurora alert are part of the Trip Pass: tell us your stops and dates, and every morning of your trip you get a brief for that day’s drive, with alerts for exactly the roads and regions you are on.
Everything on this site stays free, and so do F-road opening alerts and red weather warnings.
Frequently asked
Will I see the northern lights tonight in Iceland?
It depends on three things lining up at once: a dark sky (which Iceland has this time of year), an active enough geomagnetic index (Kp), and little blocking cloud - and all three change hour to hour. The verdict at the top of this page reads every dark hour tonight in six areas of Iceland for Kp, cloud and moonlight, and names the areas and hours where they line up best.
What is a good Kp index for aurora in Iceland?
Iceland sits far enough north that even a low Kp index (2–3) can produce visible aurora on a clear, dark night. Kp 4+ is a genuinely active display; Kp 5 and above (a geomagnetic storm, G1 or higher) can put the aurora directly overhead and visible even with some light cloud or moonlight. Cloud cover matters as much as Kp - a clear sky at Kp 2 often beats an overcast sky at Kp 5.
When is aurora season in Iceland?
Roughly late August through mid-April, whenever the sky gets properly dark at night. From around late May to early August, Iceland's high latitude means there's no real astronomical darkness (the "midnight sun" period) - the aurora may be active overhead, but it's not visible against the bright sky.
Where's the best place to see the northern lights in Iceland?
Anywhere away from Reykjavík's light pollution with a clear, dark sky and an open view north. The list on this page ranks Iceland's main regions for tonight specifically: tonight's Kp forecast covers the whole country, so the ranking comes down to each region's cloud, darkness and moonlight, hour by hour.
Does cloud cover ruin the northern lights?
Low and mid-level cloud blocks it - the aurora happens far above every cloud layer. Thin high cloud (cirrus) often lets it through, dimmed. This page shows "blocking cloud": the share of the sky the forecast cloud actually blocks, counting low cloud fully, mid cloud most of the way and high cloud only a quarter. That is why it can read low on a night that looks cloudy.