Normandie

Northern lights in Le Havre tonight

Real-time aurora forecast for Le Havre (Normandie) - latitude 49.49° N, estimated Kp threshold 7.

Kp index

4.3

unsettled

Hemispheric power

North21GW

South22GW

Source: app.pulsar-si.com

Tonight in Le Havre

Very unlikely

Based on Kp 4.3 and Le Havre's latitude.

Seeing the northern lights from Le Havre

Le Havre, at 49.5° N, benefits from an Atlantic coastal position with an exceptional northern horizon over the English Channel. Auroras become visible from Kp 6.5-7. The May 2024 storm produced sharp red and green auroras over the Seine estuary, photographed from Étretat and the Sainte-Adresse beach.

Observation conditions in Le Havre

Bortle 8 in the urban core, but the Alabaster Coast (Étretat, Yport, Fécamp) drops to Bortle 4 some 30-40 km north, with a perfect horizon over the sea. The Montgeon forest (Bortle 6) is a closer option for moderate observations. The oceanic climate brings frequent cloud cover - check the cloud forecast the day before.

Recent auroras from Le Havre

10-11 May 2024 (Kp 9): exceptional aurora photographed from the Étretat cliffs, naked-eye green and red. 24 March 2024 (Kp 8): sightings from the Alabaster Coast. 5 November 2023 (Kp 7): confirmed observations over the estuary.

What Le Havre asks of the sky

Geomagnetic latitude

51.4°

4 of 40

Kp index required

Kp 7

9 / 12 months

Dark nights per year

332

-33

Le Havre ranks 4 of the 40 cities we track, at 51.4° geomagnetic. Lille sits 0.6° higher , Amiens follows at 51.4°.

The threshold to clear here is Kp 7. Twelve months of archive hold 9 nights, the most recent on 4 July 2026, and 157 since 1994. Caen and Rouen and Amiens share exactly the same threshold.

A constraint specific to this latitude: astronomical night disappears from 6 juin to 8 juillet. Those 33 nights are lost in advance, whatever the Sun does. That leaves 332 usable nights.

How to read the Kp index →

Local conditions

Light pollution

Bortle 7 of 9

SQM 18.47 mag/arcsec²

Nearest darker sky

Mare Rouge

2 km · Bortle 2

Kp forecast, next 3 days

Source: app.pulsar-si.com. For an aurora to be visible from Le Havre, Kp must exceed 7.

Wed 19 Aug

1.1

Expected max Kp

Thu 20 Aug

1.5

Expected max Kp

Fri 21 Aug

1.7

Expected max Kp

Frequently asked questions

Can you see the northern lights from Le Havre?

Yes, but rarely. Typically a Kp index of ≥ 7 is needed for the aurora to become visible from Le Havre (latitude 49.5° N). Major geomagnetic storms (Kp 8-9) that reach this latitude happen only a handful of times per 11-year solar cycle.

What Kp index is needed to see auroras from Le Havre?

The approximate Kp threshold for Le Havre is 7. Below that, auroras stay confined to high latitudes (Norway, Scotland). Above it, they gradually extend southward. A Kp of 8 gives a fair chance, 9 a strong one.

When is the best time to watch from Le Havre?

Auroras are a nighttime phenomenon, best observed between roughly 10 PM and 2 AM local time, when the geomagnetic pole is tilted towards the Earth's night side. In practice, peaks depend on when a coronal mass ejection arrives - activity can spike at any hour.

Where around Le Havre offers better conditions?

Move at least 40-60 km north of Le Havre to escape urban light pollution and gain 1-2 magnitudes of limiting magnitude.

Nearby cities

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