Northern Lights Forecast for Bergen

Yes, on strong nights, and usually as a band low in the north. Bergens Tidende has reported it from inside the city, with crowds watching on Nordnes and photos from Damgårdssundet and the center. Weaker displays need height or distance from the lights, such as Fløyen, Ulriken or the islands of Askøy and Øygarden west of the city.

Yes, when the display is strong enough. The Fløibanen funicular runs from Vetrlidsallmenningen in the center to 320 m and keeps going late every evening, so it is the easiest way to get above the streets without a car. The city is still right below you; for a darker sky, walk on through the forest toward Rundemanen, 568 m, which takes you further from the center.

Mostly cloud. Bergen's city station averages about 2,500 mm of precipitation a year, on around 200 days. On aurora nights when cloud sits over Bergen until morning, the regional weather service has pointed watchers to Østlandet, Nord-Vestlandet and Trøndelag instead. Because the aurora here sits low in the north, a break in the cloud overhead is not enough: the northern horizon has to be clear too.

Bergens Tidende readers have sent in aurora photos from Follese and from the Herdlesund bridge, some of them in pink and red. Follese is about 20 minutes' drive from central Bergen across the fjord. Herdla, the low island at Askøy's northern tip, is about 45 minutes out and further from the city's lights.

The aurora season in Bergen runs from early August to early May, when the nights get dark. The aurora is rare in Bergen: your best chances are in September and October. The longest nights, around 21 December, have about 14 hours of darkness.

Only a bright one. After early May the sky doesn't get fully dark again until early August. The nights still reach twilight, so a strong aurora can show around midnight.

In Bergen, you usually need at least Kp 3 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 Bergen, so seeing the aurora is unlikely.