Photo by Jonatan Pie on Unsplash
The Northern lights peak season in Iceland is roughly from 15th of September until 15th of April
They are unpredictable phenomenon so seeing them depends on few things:
BEST DATES
What are the best dates to see the Northern Lights (NL) and/or at what time during the night? The NL season in Iceland is between 15th of September to 15th of April but due to the bright Icelandic summers it is not likely to see them outside of these dates. But as the main thing you need is darkness, we recommend November to January as then we have longer nights which means more hours to hunt for them. You need darkness (no special hour (I hunt after 10PM)), light or no cloud covering, solar activity and luck. On the IME website you can see when it is dark in the right column.
SOLAR ACTIVITY
You can see the Northern Lights because of electrical solar particles who enter the magnetic field of the earth. It depends on this activity, called geomagnetic activity, if the auroras are visual or not. The geomagnetic activity (KP Index) is rated from 0 – 9, 3 being moderate and 6 high.
WEATHER AND FORECAST
Sometimes the sky is clear but low solar activity so no matter where you look, you will not see them. There could also be high activity, but the sky is covered with clouds. So where to look? You can see cloud- and aurora forecasts on different websites; like Icelandic Met Office and University of Alaska, select Europe below the main photo. On these websites, which are my favorites, you can see the geomagnetic activity as well as cloud covering. Look for the green line on UAF, sometimes it covers the whole island or just the south or the north. On IME see the cloud covering, it helps you in what direction to go. Then there is the option to go on a tour with experienced guides as there are many tour companies who specialize in aurora hunts.
LUCK
As both the weather and the solar activity is unpredictable it depends on when you arrive to Iceland and what your location is. Some think that you must face north or bee in the north to see the aurora but that is a common misunderstanding. You can see them anywhere in Iceland, so this is almost pure luck but as explained above, there are ways to hunt for them.
IMPORTANT
If you are planning to go explore on your own, note that from November through March the roads outside city limits could be icy and/or snowy. Your car should have winter tires with studs, even be a 4x4 wheeler. When you start your journey, conditions could be great, but the weather can change swiftly. We recommend checking both weather forecast and road condition for your destination, see below buttons. Also see the website www.safetravel, there you can access important information about traveling in Iceland. Have a safe journey and good NL hunt.
