Aurora forecast Saint Petersburg
Northern Lights tonight in Saint Petersburg
Updated
Low chance tonight (Kp 3 forecast; needs about Kp 4 at Saint Petersburg) A camera may pick up a faint glow on the horizon if activity runs above forecast.
Will you see the northern lights from Saint Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Russia tonight? We combine NOAA's Kp forecast, the OVATION aurora model, cloud cover and the hours of darkness. Times are local (Europe/Moscow).
- Kp now
- 2 quiet, estimated
- Max Kp forecast tonight
- 3 quiet
- Kp needed at Saint Petersburg
- about 4 geomagnetic latitude 56.7°
- Cloud cover tonight
- 99% average lowest 98%
- Dark sky
- 6:58 pm – 6:33 am Sun 12° below the horizon
- Aurora probability in view now
- 17% NOAA OVATION, 30–90 min ahead
- Moon
- 100% lit Full Moon
Tonight in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg sits at a geomagnetic latitude of 56.7° N, so the aurora usually needs a Kp index of about 4 or higher before it rises above the northern horizon. Tonight's NOAA forecast peaks at Kp 3 (quiet) during the dark hours, 1.0 short of what Saint Petersburg needs.
Open-Meteo expects about 99% cloud cover on average between 1 am and 7 am local time, with no mostly clear hours.
The Moon is 100% illuminated (full moon), bright enough to wash out a faint aurora, so only a stronger display will stand out. For the best view look north, low on the horizon, from somewhere away from street lights.
Right now NOAA's OVATION model gives up to 17% chance of aurora in the part of the sky visible from Saint Petersburg. OVATION is a short-range nowcast (30 to 90 minutes ahead), useful for deciding whether to step outside now.
| Local time | Kp forecast | Cloud cover | Aurora chance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 1 am | 2 | 100% | Unlikely |
| Mon 2 am | 2 | 99% | Unlikely |
| Mon 3 am | 3 | 99% | Low |
| Mon 4 am | 3 | 99% | Low |
| Mon 5 am | 3 | 100% | Low |
| Mon 6 am | 2 | 98% | Unlikely |
3-day Kp forecast
None of the next 3 days reaches the Kp 4 that Saint Petersburg needs. Kp is a global 0–9 index of geomagnetic activity, issued in 3-hour blocks (UTC); NOAA forecasts beyond 24 hours are uncertain, because storms are triggered by solar eruptions that take 1–3 days to arrive.
| Day (UTC) | Max Kp | Level | Enough for Saint Petersburg? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-25 | 2 | quiet | No |
| 2026-10-26 | 3 | quiet | No |
| 2026-10-27 | 1.7 | quiet | No |
Why Saint Petersburg needs Kp 4
The aurora forms in an oval around the geomagnetic pole, which sits in the Canadian Arctic (about 80.8° N, 72.8° W), not at the geographic pole. That is why the Kp a city needs depends on its geomagnetic rather than its geographic latitude. At Kp 0 the oval's edge is near 66° geomagnetic; each step of Kp pushes it roughly 2° toward the equator.
At 56.7° geomagnetic, Saint Petersburg needs about Kp 4 for aurora low on the horizon, Kp 6 or more for a display high in the sky. Lahti, 283 km away, needs about Kp 3.
Aurora forecast for nearby cities
More sky and weather
Data: NOAA SWPC (Kp, OVATION), Open-Meteo, GeoNames.