Aurora forecast Stirling
Northern Lights tonight in Stirling
Updated
Good chance tonight: Kp 3 forecast, clear skies after 12 am, look north Stirling needs about Kp 3.
Will you see the northern lights from Stirling, Scotland, United Kingdom tonight? We combine NOAA's Kp forecast, the OVATION aurora model, cloud cover and the hours of darkness. Times are local (Europe/London).
- Kp now
- 2 quiet, estimated
- Max Kp forecast tonight
- 3 quiet
- Kp needed at Stirling
- about 3 geomagnetic latitude 58.4°
- Cloud cover tonight
- 45% average lowest 0%
- Dark sky
- 6:15 pm – 5:50 am Sun 12° below the horizon
- Aurora probability in view now
- 2% NOAA OVATION, 30–90 min ahead
- Moon
- 100% lit Full Moon
Tonight in Stirling
Stirling sits at a geomagnetic latitude of 58.4° N, so the aurora usually needs a Kp index of about 3 or higher before it rises above the northern horizon. Tonight's NOAA forecast peaks at Kp 3 (quiet) during the dark hours, which is enough for Stirling.
Open-Meteo expects about 45% cloud cover on average between 7 pm and 6 am local time, with 5 of 11 dark hours mostly clear (30% cloud or less).
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 2% chance of aurora in the part of the sky visible from Stirling. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 7 pm | 2 | 83% | Low |
| Sun 8 pm | 2 | 0% | Low |
| Sun 9 pm | 2 | 11% | Low |
| Sun 10 pm | 2 | 52% | Low |
| Sun 11 pm | 2 | 0% | Low |
| Mon 12 am | 3 | 0% | Good |
| Mon 1 am | 3 | 0% | Good |
| Mon 2 am | 3 | 98% | Active, but cloudy |
| Mon 3 am | 2 | 98% | Low |
| Mon 4 am | 2 | 100% | Low |
| Mon 5 am | 2 | 50% | Low |
3-day Kp forecast
1 of the next 3 days reach the Kp 3 that Stirling 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 Stirling? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-25 | 2 | quiet | No |
| 2026-10-26 | 3 | quiet | Yes |
| 2026-10-27 | 1.7 | quiet | No |
Why Stirling needs Kp 3
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 58.4° geomagnetic, Stirling needs about Kp 3 for aurora low on the horizon, Kp 5 or more for a display high in the sky.
Aurora forecast for nearby cities
More sky and weather
Data: NOAA SWPC (Kp, OVATION), Open-Meteo, GeoNames.