THe best times to see the Aurora
A month by month guide to choose YOUR best time to see the Aurora
Detailed month by month guide below
The month September, October, February, March and early April are usually the best time to see the Northern Lights in Lapland. Why? Better weather and a slightly increased aurora activity due to the equinox effect marks them.
If you join one of our Aurora Road Trips all month are good for Northern Lights. Why? Because we have such a big radius where we can travel to find clear skies and to go north – where Northern Lights can be nice also with smaller activity. Also, climate chance has an impact and weather conditions are changing. That’s why even December (considered one of the worst month) has been quite good some years.
When is Aurora season in Lapland?
The aurora season in Lapland lasts from mid August and last until mid April. More specifically in Rovaniemi the first aurora can be visible already on the 8-10 August and they can be visible until 25 April. The more north you go the shorter the season will last. We suggest though to come earliest from end of August and latest until the 10th of April because before and after the sky is still very bright.
Can the Northern Lights be seen in Summer?
One of the most common question we get is: “Can we see aurora in the summer?” – The answer is no because we have 24 hours of sun in Lapland so that means that northern lights are there, but not visible!
When is the best time to see the Aurora?
Better weather and a slightly increased aurora activity due to the equinox effect makes the month September, October, February, March and early April usually the best time to see the Northern Lights in Lapland.
Here our detailed month by month guide:
August
The first aurora can be seen about 8-10 of August on the Rovaniemi latitudes, but still it is not a good time to come yet. Why?
Nights in beginning/ mid august are still really bright, so even with stronger auroras you won’t get to see much more than a faint line on the sky. If you want to come in August best time is after the 25th when the nights can start to get darker. Usually August is a really good month for the weather.
Also temperature can be between 10 and 20 degrees which makes it nice to be outside. 🙂
September
September is usually one of the best months for Auroras but why?
- The Russell-McPherron effect (equinox Effect) is one of the reasons which means that usually we get stronger and more intense aurora displays.
- The weather is usually good (not too many cloudy nights) and warm which makes it pleasant to be outside ( lowest temperature is about 0 C)
- Lakes are not frozen which means we can often get those beautiful aurora reflections.
- No snow that means less light pollution and more available place to go with the cars, many nice spots road are closed in the winter.
- Long days and beautiful autumn colours all over Lapland that makes it also beautiful to explore during the day
October
Together with September October is an amazing aurora hunting month! (Sometimes even better)
The equinox effect brings still amazing show during the whole month and usually we don’t have snow until beginning of November which means that the scenery is really similar to September with not frozen lakes and some left autumn colours 🙂 In the North there can be the first snow on some hills.
Some of the best shows in the last years have been in October and the temperature can vary from +10 to -15 C which means that you need to start to wear winter clothes.
November
In November days in Lapland are getting shorter and we get the first snow that can possibly stay. Overall November is sometimes a quite grey month in Rovaniemi – but often not in other parts of Lapland. The cloud coverage can be high in November around Rovaniemi which requires long drives and effort to see the Northern Lights.
In November we have done some of our longest tours to escape the clouds. We went even 800 km – in a single night.
Aurora display are usually a little less intense if you stay more south (but that does not mean that we cannot get amazing nights. We get those also in November).😊
Temperature from -5 to -25 degrees C.
December
In December usually real winter kicks in: snowfall increases and days are getting very short. Often December has been a quite cloudy month, so often we have to do really long tours. But same as in November it can sometimes happen that the clouds coverage is so spread that there is no chance for a tour starting from Rovaniemi for a one night tour only.
Though in recent years with climate change there have been years where we got even in December many clear nights.
December is also the busiest month in Lapland which means that if you want to join the Aurora Tour with us, it is best to book in advance.
Also days are short (4 h of daylight in Rovaniemi) which gives little time to see around (that is also a reason why we don’t do many Aurora Road Trips in December)
Temperature in December between-10 and -35 C.
January
January is one of the coldest months and because of that it is usually a bit more clear compared to November and December.
We have had many days with successful tours in the last years and the nice thing of January is that it’s often the right time for the trees covered in snow which makes it really nice for photos and landscapes.
January is really cold month and temperatures can drop to -35 (I have seen -42 C)
Days are also getting longer and from mid January you can get the stunning combination of snow and sun.
February
We really like February for aurora hunting – a very cold month in Lapland but usually a really good one. 🙂
February usually has quite good weather and makes it easier for us to find clear skies and auroras can be better because we are getting closer to the equinox compared to November-January. 😍
The trees are often completely covered with snow!
Days are getting longer and we usually run a lot of Aurora Road Trips from the beginning to the end of the month:)
Also one night aurora hunting tours are really good in February.
If you want to see the real winter and aurora it is the best month for you!!
March
One of our favourite and best time for Aurora is March! March has both long days but still dark enough nights to be able to catch the northern lights!
The weather is usually good in March, probably together with September they have the best weather in Lapland and usually it is really good time for auroras because of the equinox effect!
March has often some of the best aurora shows and the temperatures are a bit better (we can still get to -30 C some nights) but usually about -10 to -25 C.
There is usually still a lot of snow on the ground but not much on the trees (except in few national parks).
Days are quite long which makes it an amazing month to explore Lapland and have plenty of time also for Northern Lights.
April
In the beginning of April we can usually get many nights of clear skies and auroras. April is still close enough to the equinox which can help to bring good shows.
In our experience the first 10 days are often really really good for northern lights. After that the days are getting too bright to have good chances to see the Aurora.
Temperature are usually quite nice – 5 to -10 C. During the days the snow usually starts to melt.
Nights are getting really short, so I don’t recommend to come after the 10 of April because nights are getting also brighter and so it is harder to catch a good show when you have only 2 h of dark 🙂
The aurora season can last until 23 of April but to see something then you would need a really strong aurora.