Can you see the northern lights in Saariselkä and Ivalo tonight?
Clouded out — 100% cloud at best between 18:08 and 05:44.
Checked against NOAA SWPC, FMI's Ivalo magnetometer and the FMI HARMONIE forecast.
Tonight Saariselkä and Ivalo is 21 of 26 on the ranked table of places.
Get an alert when Saariselkä and Ivalo lights up
A heads-up in the hours before dark when tonight's forecast Kp reaches your choice and the cloud forecast leaves a gap, and an alert when the field is active over a clear enough sky at Saariselkä and Ivalo. Two a night at most, nothing on the other nights.
Alerts come to this browser on this device. No email, no account; turn them off here or from any alert.
Aurora forecast for Saariselkä and Ivalo: the next three nights
| Night | Dark, local time | Forecast Kp | Kp needed | Clearest hour |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TonightFri 13 Nov | 18:08–05:44 | Kp 1.67 | Kp 1 | 100% at best |
| Clouded out — 100% cloud at best. | ||||
| Saturday nightSat 14 Nov | 18:06–05:46 | Kp 1.67 | Kp 1 | 4% at best |
| Possible — Kp up to 1.67 is forecast while it is dark, and Saariselkä and Ivalo needs about Kp 1. 4% cloud at best. | ||||
| Sunday nightSun 15 Nov | 18:04–05:50 | Kp 1.67 until 02:00 | Kp 1 | not forecast yet |
| Possible — Kp up to 1.67 is forecast until 02:00, and Saariselkä and Ivalo needs about Kp 1. The cloud forecast does not reach this night yet. | ||||
Checked . Kp from the NOAA SWPC three-day forecast, issued ; cloud from FMI HARMONIE forecast, issued . Tonight's row is the verdict above, which also reads the Kp now, OVATION and the magnetometers; the nights after rest on the forecasts alone.
Key facts
- Astronomically dark in Saariselkä and Ivalo tonight from 18:08 to 05:44 local time, 11 hours and 36 minutes, as of .
- Aurora outlook for the next three nights: Fri 13 Nov, Clouded out; Sat 14 Nov, Possible; Sun 15 Nov, Possible, as of .
- In the 2026–27 season, astronomical darkness returns between 1 September and 15 September and ends between 15 March and 1 April.
- Saariselkä and Ivalo is at 68.42°N, 27.41°E.
Updated
At 68.4°N by Urho Kekkonen national park, Saariselkä and Ivalo sit far enough north that even a quiet geomagnetic night is often enough to see the aurora.
Photo: Daniele57C, CC BY 4.0
The evidence
- Geomagnetic activity
- Kp 0.67 (quiet) NOAA SWPC, estimated Kp,Forecast peak Kp 1.67 during the dark hours NOAA SWPC 3-day forecast, issued 02:30 EET0% chance of aurora overhead NOAA SWPC OVATION,Local disturbance 2 nT/min at Ivalo, 16 km away FMI magnetometer network,
- Cloud over the dark hours
- 100% cloud at best around 18:00, 100% at worst FMI HARMONIE forecast, covering 18:08–05:44
- Darkness
- Astronomical dark 18:08–05:44 (11h 36m) computed here from the date and the coordinatesSunset 14:28, sunrise 09:24 computed here
- Moon
- Waxing crescent, 17% lit, below the horizon at the start of the dark hours computed here
Finland's all-sky aurora cameras are at Kevo, Kilpisjärvi and Muonio, run by the Finnish Meteorological Institute, and at Nyrölä, Hankasalmi and Metsähovi in the south. Their images are not published under a licence that lets us embed them, so we link instead: FMI's all-sky camera images. See where the data comes from for what we checked.
How dark does it get in Saariselkä and Ivalo tonight?
It is astronomically dark — dark enough to see the aurora — from 18:08 to 05:44 local time, 11 hours and 36 minutes.
Dark hours by date, 2026–27 season
| Date | Dark from | Dark until | Hours of darkness |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 September | Not dark enough for the aurora | ||
| 15 September | 00:04 | 02:10 | 2h 06m |
| 1 October | 21:56 | 04:08 | 6h 12m |
| 15 October | 20:48 | 05:08 | 8h 20m |
| 1 November | 18:44 | 05:08 | 10h 24m |
| 15 November | 18:04 | 05:50 | 11h 46m |
| 1 December | 17:36 | 06:26 | 12h 50m |
| 15 December | 17:26 | 06:48 | 13h 22m |
| 1 January | 17:38 | 06:52 | 13h 14m |
| 15 January | 18:04 | 06:36 | 12h 32m |
| 1 February | 18:48 | 06:00 | 11h 12m |
| 15 February | 19:34 | 05:14 | 9h 40m |
| 1 March | 20:28 | 04:18 | 7h 50m |
| 15 March | 21:36 | 03:04 | 5h 28m |
| 1 April | Not dark enough for the aurora | ||
Astronomical darkness (the sun more than 18° below the horizon), Saariselkä and Ivalo local time, computed here from the date and the coordinates.
Auroras are seen on average across northern Lapland on many clear, dark nights, but thick cloud prevents you from seeing them. Lapland North gives the season as September to April, while late winter and early autumn are statistically the best times. Airport shuttles run for every scheduled flight at Ivalo Airport, and road transport continues to the resort.
When to see the northern lights in Saariselkä
Lapland North gives the northern lights season as September to April. The Finnish Meteorological Institute states that the best months are February to March and September to October.
According to the Finnish Meteorological Institute, late winter and early autumn are statistically the best times for auroras. Because spring is on average less cloudy, the institute recommends March. Auroras do not depend on frost, but they cannot be seen through thick cloud. In hard frost the sky is often clear, whereas in mild weather it is often overcast.
On clear dark nights auroras are seen on average three nights in four (75% of nights) near the latitude of Kilpisjärvi, and in Utsjoki Lapland the share is about 10 percentage points lower. Around Sodankylä, auroras are seen on average every second night. You can compare conditions across other regions in our guide to northern lights in Finland.
In Lapland the chance of auroras passes 50% by nine in the evening, Finnish winter time. The chance peaks at about 23:30, which corresponds to magnetic midnight, before falling below 50% again around four or five in the morning. You can check the local darkness hours on our Saariselkä daylight table.
How to get to Saariselkä
Lapland North states that Saariselkä is reached through Ivalo Airport, Finland's northernmost airport, with daily flights from Helsinki and winter connections from several European cities. Saariselkä sits 25 km from the airport. Lapland North also describes Ivalo as the largest village in northern Lapland with all everyday services, 7 kilometres from the village centre to the airport.
According to Finavia, the shuttle bus from the airport to the Saariselkä resort sells tickets on board, so no advance booking is needed, and timetables are with Eskelisen Lapin Linjat. Lapland North notes that airport shuttles run for every scheduled flight. Lapland North also states that the seasonal airport bus runs mainly in winter from every Finnair flight, connecting Ivalo Airport, Saariselkä, Kiilopää, Kakslauttanen, and the main accommodation areas.
For winter season 2026/2027, Lapland North lists flight connections to Ivalo from London (BA Euroflyer), Paris Orly (Vueling and Transavia), Amsterdam (TUI fly), Düsseldorf (Eurowings), Frankfurt (Lufthansa), Zürich (Edelweiss Air), Vienna (Austrian), and Munich (Discover Airlines).
Lapland North states that there is no railway to the area; Rovaniemi is the usual station, and from there long-distance buses continue north to Ivalo and Saariselkä. Buses from Rovaniemi run daily and meet many train arrivals. Lapland North gives the bus travel time from Rovaniemi to Saariselkä as about 3 hours.
The E75 is the main north-south road, running from Rovaniemi through Sodankylä, Saariselkä, Ivalo, and Inari to Utsjoki. Lapland North gives the driving distance from Rovaniemi to Saariselkä as 260 km; monitor conditions in winter on our guide to E75 road conditions from Rovaniemi to Inari.
Where to stand to see the aurora
The Finnish Meteorological Institute advises watching from an open place that is as dark as possible, away from the light pollution of settlements. Full night vision takes tens of minutes to develop; if you need a lamp, it should be a dim red one. A good aurora night in Finland is clear, dark, and usually cold. Because the best displays take patient waiting, dress warmly.
Several viewing locations sit in the surrounding area:
- Kaunispää summit: The summit stands 2 km from the centre of Saariselkä. A road leads up from Saariselkä or from the E75, and parking at the top is free. From November 2026 the summit restaurant on Kaunispää runs an evening Northern Lights Lounge after dark.
- Kiilopää fell centre: The Kiilopää fell centre, south of Saariselkä at the gateway to the national park, states that northern lights can be seen in the area, best from September to April.
- Urho Kekkonen National Park: Lapland North states that the national park offers dark skies and northern lights in winter and autumn.
Lapland North notes that guided aurora hunting tours by car go looking for clear skies, and there are also snowmobile, reindeer and husky outings at night. Lapland North warns drivers not to stop in the middle of the road to take photos, but to pull off at a safe place or a parking area.
Where to watch near Saariselkä and Ivalo
- Kaunispää 2.1 km north-east. Located 2 km from the centre of Saariselkä, the 438-metre summit can be reached on foot, on skis, by car or by ski lift. After dark, the summit restaurant operates as a paid Northern Lights Lounge.
- Kiilopää 8.3 km south. Serving as the gateway to Urho Kekkonen National Park, the area provides dark skies for northern lights viewing during autumn and winter, with sightings best from September to April.
- Inarijärvi (Lake Inari) at Inari village 57 km north. Inari's position under the auroral oval makes it an ideal setting for northern lights displays. In the village, Lake Inari can be reached beside the Siida museum.
What the numbers mean
Four things have to line up before you see anything, and three of them are on this page above. The fourth is your own eyes adjusting, which takes about twenty minutes in real darkness and does not survive a glance at a phone.
Darkness comes first because it cannot be argued with. The aurora is always there when the field is active; you can only see it once the sun is more than 18° below the horizon, which is what the dark band above marks. In Saariselkä and Ivalo that is 11 hours and 36 minutes tonight.
Kp is a global index of how disturbed the Earth's magnetic field is, from 0 to 9, published every three hours. It is a blunt instrument: it says the whole planet was disturbed, not that the aurora is over Saariselkä and Ivalo now. At 68°N the auroral oval usually sits overhead already, so a quiet Kp is no reason to stay in.
The local disturbance is the better number, and it is the one most aurora pages do not have. FMI runs magnetometers across Lapland; we take the rate of change of the horizontal field at the nearest one, in nanotesla per minute, which for Saariselkä and Ivalo is Ivalo, 16 km away. A field moving fast overhead means current flowing overhead, which is the aurora itself. Above roughly 40 nT/min it is usually visible; above 100 a substorm is running and it will be moving.
Cloud ends most attempts. The figure above is the total cloud cover FMI's HARMONIE model forecasts for the dark hours, at these exact coordinates. Anything over about 70% and you will not see through it; under 30% and it stops mattering.
The moon does not stop the aurora. A full moon high in the sky washes out the faint green arcs that make up most displays, so a strong night still shows and a marginal one does not.
Getting there tonight
Rovaniemi to Saariselkä and Inari: Poor driving conditions on Rovaniemi to Saariselkä and Inari — the surface runs -14.9 to -3.1 °C. The surface is at or below freezing at 13 of 13 stations, from Rovaniemi Petäjäskoski northwards.
Plan the trip
- Best places to see the northern lights
- Northern lights in Finland: when and where to go
- Saariselkä and Inari: fells and Sámi Lapland
- Dog sledding and reindeer in Lapland: how to choose
- Saariselkä webcams: every live camera
Nearby
Also on this site: how the daylight changes through the year, and the other 25 places.