The Northern Lights Forecast app
Tonight's chance of seeing the aurora where you are, the hours worth staying up for, and an alert on your phone when it starts. It installs from your browser in a few seconds, with no account, and nothing to pay unless you want Pro.
What you get, free
The forecast is free and stays free. Open the app and you see:
- Live Kp, Bz & cloud cover for 23 locations
- Tonight's probability, checked against field reports
- Five-night outlook: darkness, moon and Kp
- Live aurora map, any point on Earth
- Your own saved spot
- All location guides & Kp scale reference
- Push alert at your own Kp threshold (1 location, anywhere on Earth)
A forecast for your sky, not a single Kp number
Most aurora apps show the planet's Kp index and leave the rest to you. But the Kp you need depends on where you stand. Whitehorse sees the lights from Kp 1.3; Inverness needs Kp 5.5. Each place is calibrated to its magnetic latitude, then the app folds in cloud from four weather models, how dark it is, and where the moon is, and gives you one number for tonight.
That number is checked against what people actually saw: guides and visitors report sightings from the app, and the forecast is scored against them.
How the forecast works →
Alerts that watch the sky while you sleep
The strongest displays often come after midnight, when nobody is checking an app. Pro sends a push alert when it matters:
- Tonight's calibrated chance crosses your threshold
- Kp reaches the level your location needs
- Bz turns south, the usual trigger for a display, often with 15 to 60 minutes' warning
- Your sky clears
- An evening heads-up with tonight's best hours, before dark
Pro also adds the hour-by-hour view for tonight, the moon's wash-out, and NOAA's solar flare odds.
Install it in a few seconds
iPhone and iPad
Open the site in Safari, tap Share, then Add to Home Screen. Turn alerts on inside the installed app: iPhone only sends web alerts to installed apps, not to a Safari tab.
Android
Open the site in Chrome and tap Install when it offers, or choose Install app from the menu.
Computer
It works in any browser, and Chrome and Edge can install it as a desktop app.
It is the same app on every device, it updates itself, and there is no account to make. If you buy Pro, a restore code moves it to your other devices.
Open the appFree, or Pro for a week, a year, or for good
- Live Kp, Bz & cloud cover for 23 locations
- Tonight's probability, checked against field reports
- Five-night outlook: darkness, moon and Kp
- Live aurora map, any point on Earth
- Your own saved spot
- All location guides & Kp scale reference
- Push alert at your own Kp threshold (1 location, anywhere on Earth)
Everything in Free, plus the hour-by-hour timing and the alerts that watch the sky for you. The only question is how long.
For people who chase the sky all season.
- Hour-by-hour tonight breakdown
- Moon phase, altitude & wash-out impact
- Solar flare heads-up, days ahead of a storm
- Push alerts: calibrated probability, Kp, Bz & sky-clearing, every location
- Evening heads-up with tonight's peak hours
- Night watch: name a night up to 5 days out, hear how it turns out
- Works on up to 3 devices
Less than two seasons of Annual, for good.
- Everything in Pro Annual
- One payment, never renews
- All future Pro features included
- Works on up to 3 devices
Prices in USD, tax added at checkout. Outside the US, Stripe shows the total in your currency before you pay. Secure checkout by Stripe. We never see your card. Already bought Pro on another device, or have a code from your hotel or tour operator? Both go in Settings.
The team behind Northern Lights Resort & Spa near Whitehorse, Yukon, who have guided aurora guests for 15 years and built the forecast they wanted for their own guests. About us →
Questions about the app
Is there a northern lights app for iPhone?
Yes. Open northernlightsforecast.app in Safari, tap Share, then Add to Home Screen. It installs like any app, and alerts work from the installed app.
Is there a northern lights app for Android?
Yes. Open the site in Chrome and tap Install, or choose Install app from the menu. Alerts work as soon as you allow notifications.
Is the app free?
The forecast is free: tonight's odds for 23 destinations or your own spot, the five-night outlook, the map, and one Kp alert. Pro adds hourly timing and the full set of alerts, from $4.99 for a week.
How is it different from other aurora apps?
It gives each location its own Kp threshold from its magnetic latitude, adds cloud, darkness and the moon, and checks the result against real sightings. The guide to choosing an aurora forecast explains what to look for in any app, this one included.