Tonight
Oct 28 - Oct 29
- 12 °C
34 percent cloud cover - 12 °C
65 percent cloud cover - 12 °C
88 percent cloud cover
Northern Lights Forecast for Dublin
Dublin, Ireland
53°20′59.3″N ⋅ 6°15′37.1″W
Aurora data last updated at
Current local time:
Can you see the Northern Lights in Dublin tonight?
No significant aurora activity is expected in Dublin over the next 24 hours. Sky will be dark from 18:17 to 06:00 local time. Cloud cover around that time looks overcast at around 90%.
Aurora Forecast for Dublin
Today at 18:00
No activity
Cloud Cover:98%
Aurora activity
High clouds
Middle clouds
Low clouds
Fog
Aurora activity
High clouds
Middle clouds
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Fog
Hourly aurora forecast for Dublin
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3-Night Weather Forecast for Dublin
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Tomorrow night
Oct 29 - Oct 30
- 12 °C95 percent cloud cover
- 12 °C99 percent cloud cover
- 12 °C44 percent cloud cover
Friday night
Oct 30 - Oct 31
- 10 °C59 percent cloud cover
- 9 °C48 percent cloud cover
- 9 °C66 percent cloud cover
Sun & Moon
Sunset
Sunrise
Dark from 18:17 to 06:00 (11 h 43 min)
Current Moon
Waning Gibbous
91% illumination
Refresh to load today's sun path.
Long-Term Aurora Forecast for Dublin
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wednesday, October 28, 2026. Today. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Waning gibbous, 92% illumination | Thursday, October 29, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Waning gibbous, 85% illumination | Friday, October 30, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Waning gibbous, 76% illumination | Saturday, October 31, 2026. Low aurora activity. Aurora score 1 out of 10. Last quarter, 65% illumination | Sunday, November 1, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Last quarter, 54% illumination | ||
Monday, November 2, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Last quarter, 43% illumination | Tuesday, November 3, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Last quarter, 32% illumination | Wednesday, November 4, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Waning crescent, 23% illumination | Thursday, November 5, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Waning crescent, 14% illumination | Friday, November 6, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Waning crescent, 8% illumination | Saturday, November 7, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. New moon, 3% illumination | Sunday, November 8, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. New moon, 1% illumination |
Monday, November 9, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. New moon, 0% illumination | Tuesday, November 10, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. New moon, 2% illumination | Wednesday, November 11, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Waxing crescent, 5% illumination | Thursday, November 12, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Waxing crescent, 10% illumination | Friday, November 13, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Waxing crescent, 16% illumination | Saturday, November 14, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Waxing crescent, 23% illumination | Sunday, November 15, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. First quarter, 32% illumination |
Monday, November 16, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. First quarter, 41% illumination | Tuesday, November 17, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. First quarter, 50% illumination | Wednesday, November 18, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. First quarter, 60% illumination | Thursday, November 19, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Waxing gibbous, 70% illumination | Friday, November 20, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Waxing gibbous, 79% illumination | Saturday, November 21, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Waxing gibbous, 87% illumination | Sunday, November 22, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Waxing gibbous, 94% illumination |
Monday, November 23, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Full moon, 98% illumination | Tuesday, November 24, 2026. No aurora activity. Aurora score 0 out of 10. Full moon, 100% illumination |
LowAurora ActivityHigh
Best Time to See the Northern Lights in Dublin
The nights in Dublin are dark all year. But the aurora rarely reaches this far south: only in strong storms, which can come in any month.
- Dark hours
- Chance of aurora
Long-term averages for clear nights, since 1985. Geomagnetic data: GFZ, CC BY 4.0
Every night of 2026 in Dublin, January at the top: how long it's dark, and the chance of aurora on a clear night.
Northern Lights in Dublin
Dublin lies on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the Liffey, with the Dublin Mountains to the south and flat farmland to the north and west. On an active night a camera on a dark coast may pick up a glow low in the north; a display you will clearly see with your eyes needs a G1 minor storm or stronger. It is also the driest part of Ireland, with about half the rainfall of the west coast.
In the strongest storms the aurora has turned up in photos from all over the city, from Tallaght, Drumcondra and Ballinteer to Dublin Airport, and from Bray Head down the coast. Phone cameras in night mode pull out colour your eyes miss, so the sky may look grey while the photo is pink and green; see the site’s guide to photographing the aurora with an iPhone.
Bull Island, Howth and the coast to Skerries
- Bull Island and Dollymount Strand: A 5 km beach on an island in the bay, reached by the wooden bridge from Clontarf. In big storms many of the city’s aurora photos are taken here.
- Howth Head: The peninsula north-east of the city, with DART stations at Sutton and Howth. From the harbour side the sea is to the north, with Ireland’s Eye directly off the harbour.
- The north county coast: Portmarnock’s Velvet Strand, 15 km north-north-east of the centre on the DART, and Skerries, 30 km north by train, put the Irish Sea on the horizon with far less light behind you.
The Hellfire Club and Three Rock look into the glow
The Dublin Mountains are the wrong way round for this. The Hellfire Club on Montpelier Hill (383 m) and Three Rock (444 m) both look north over the city, so you are staring into its lights.
Real darkness means crossing Ireland to the Atlantic coast of County Mayo, where Mayo Dark Sky Park in Wild Nephin National Park became the country’s first International Dark Sky Park, gold tier since 2016. The same storms are seen from Belfast.
FAQ
Where in Dublin have people photographed the northern lights?
Along the bay and the coast, and only during major geomagnetic storms. Bull Island and Dollymount Strand are where many of the photos come from, and in the biggest storms they have also been taken in Tallaght, Drumcondra and Ballinteer, at Dublin Airport and from Bray Head. Between storms the city lights hide anything faint, so the coast north of the city is where to watch.
Where can I see the northern lights near Dublin by DART or train?
Howth and Sutton are on the DART, and from the harbour side of Howth Head the sea is to the north with Ireland's Eye straight ahead. Portmarnock, 15 km north-north-east of the centre, is also on the DART and has the Velvet Strand. Skerries, 30 km north, has trains from Dublin and a long beach with islands offshore. All three put the city behind you.
Is Howth a good place to see the northern lights?
It is one of the better spots inside the DART network. The harbour and the north side of the head face open sea, with Ireland's Eye a kilometre or so offshore, and the cliff path gives a clear horizon. Howth is still only about 14 km from the city centre by road, so a faint display will be weak here, but in big storms the lights have been photographed from Bull Island, a few kilometres along the same shore.
Is there a dark sky park near Dublin?
Not near. Ireland's first International Dark Sky Park is Mayo Dark Sky Park in Wild Nephin National Park, gold tier since 2016, on the Atlantic coast of County Mayo on the far side of the country. North of the border, the OM Dark Sky Park in Davagh Forest, County Tyrone, was Northern Ireland's first in 2020. For a night out from Dublin, the north county coast at Skerries is the practical choice.
When is the best time to see the northern lights in Dublin?
The nights in Dublin are dark all year. But the aurora rarely reaches this far south: only in strong storms, which can come in any month. The longest nights, around 21 December, have about 14 hours of darkness.
Can you see the northern lights in Dublin in summer?
Yes. The nights in Dublin are dark all year, so the aurora can show in summer too when it reaches this far south.
What Kp index do I need to see the northern lights in Dublin?
In Dublin, you usually need at least Kp 5 to have a reasonable chance of seeing the northern lights. Lower Kp can still bring a faint aurora display low on the northern horizon, but it is less common.
This is based on magnetic latitude, and Kp index is a global geomagnetic index, so treat it as a rule of thumb, not a location-specific guarantee.
Tonight, the NOAA Kp index forecast is 1.3 to 1.7. That is below the usual Kp index threshold for Dublin, so seeing the aurora is unlikely.