Kp index
3.1
◆ 64.146°N 21.942°W · Reykjavík · updated 1970-01-01 at 00:00 UTC
Aurora forecast for Iceland.
Kp index, cloud cover, viewing spots — maintained by a small team in Reykjavík.
Northern Light Monitor is a hobbyist aurora-forecast journal we started in 2021 after a few disappointing viewing nights with bad cloud cover. We now publish a short daily note on whether aurora watchers should drive out tonight.
Cloud cover
26%
Sunset · dawn
16:42 → 10:08
Best viewing
22:00 – 02:00
What this site is for
Deciding when a night drive is worth it
We don't sell tours or run observatories. We're a two-person team of amateur aurora chasers who live near Reykjavík and now write down what we've learned about reading solar wind forecasts, cloud maps, and viewing spots. If you're planning a trip to Iceland between September and April, our daily note tells you which nights are worth staying up for.
Tonight's aurora forecast
Short daily note on Kp index, solar wind arrival, cloud cover, and whether we recommend driving out to a dark spot.
Viewing spots near Reykjavík
Dark-sky sites within 60 min drive — Þingvellir, Grótta Lighthouse, Kerið crater — with access notes and parking.
How aurora works
Solar wind, magnetic reconnection, oval auroral latitude — a plain-English primer on why Iceland is one of the best places on Earth.
Plan an aurora trip
Which months, which week of the lunar cycle, how long to stay, what to bring. For first-time Iceland visitors.
Independent trip planning
Looking for a guided tour?
We don't operate tours ourselves. If you'd prefer a guided aurora hunt with a local driver, we recommend browsing an Iceland travel marketplace such as guidetoiceland.is which lists several hundred operators side by side. We're not affiliated with any operator and don't take commission.
Methodology
How we build each day's note
We read three public bulletins each day at 15:00 UTC: the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center 3-day Kp forecast, the Icelandic Meteorological Office (Veðurstofa) cloud map, and the 30-minute aurora oval forecast for Northern Hemisphere. Our note combines these three into a plain-English call: "go out," "stay in," or "watch the sky after midnight."