United Kingdom · Aurora borealis
Is the aurora visible in Durness tonight?
Right now
Not tonight.
Kp is 0.0. Durness needs Kp 5+ for the oval overhead — right now it’s not reaching Durness.
Tonight's peak is forecast around Kp 5.3 (Minor storm). The forecast still depends on darkness, cloud and the moon at your exact spot.
Reliable about 30 minutes ahead — cloud decides the rest.
Durness needs an active night or a minor geomagnetic storm — it needs roughly Kp 5+ for the northern lights to come into view. Here's tonight's live space weather and how to plan around it.
How to see the aurora from Durness
Face north and find a clear, low horizon in that direction. Everything else — dark skies, adapted eyes, the camera trick — is the same anywhere on Earth, so it lives in the how to photograph the aurora guide.
When can you see the northern lights in Durness?
Aurora season in Durness runs roughly September – March. Here the months that pay off are September, March, and April — the table below shows why. See the full best time to see the aurora guide for the season in detail.
Durness by the numbers
Between Sep 1, 2025 and Aug 31, 2026, Durness had 365 nights dark enough for the aurora, and the planetary Kp reached the Kp 5+ this place needs on 62 of them. Averaged over 2015–2024 and this location's cloud cover, that works out to about 8 aurora-possible nights a year, most of them in September, March, and April.
| Month | Dark hours per night | Dark nights | Average cloud cover | Aurora-possible nights |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 15 h | 31 | 81% | <1 |
| February | 13.3 h | 28 | 76% | 1 |
| March | 10.8 h | 31 | 76% | 1 |
| April | 7.8 h | 30 | 73% | 1 |
| May | 5 h | 31 | 76% | 1 |
| June | 2.8 h | 30 | 78% | 1 |
| July | 4 h | 31 | 82% | <1 |
| August | 7 h | 31 | 78% | 1 |
| September | 9.8 h | 30 | 78% | 1 |
| October | 12.3 h | 31 | 79% | 1 |
| November | 14.8 h | 30 | 79% | 1 |
| December | 15.8 h | 31 | 82% | <1 |
Sources: the sun's geometry (dark = at least 6° below the horizon), GFZ Potsdam's Kp index 2015–2024 (CC BY 4.0), ERA5 cloud cover via Open-Meteo (the table shows the monthly mean; the estimate counts days that were not overcast). An estimate for comparing places and months, not a forecast — how we estimate this.
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Aurora tours & stays near Durness
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Aurora cabins & lodges
Cabins, lodges and aurora-view stays near Durness — settle in and watch the lights.
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Rent a car to chase clear skies
Self-drive to dark-sky spots away from town glow. Compare every local supplier.
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Travel medical cover for a trip to Durness — remote, cold and weather-dependent — from a few dollars a day.
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