Normandie

Northern lights in Rouen tonight

Real-time aurora forecast for Rouen (Normandie) - latitude 49.44° N, estimated Kp threshold 7.

Kp index

4.3

unsettled

Hemispheric power

North21GW

South22GW

Source: app.pulsar-si.com

Tonight in Rouen

Very unlikely

Based on Kp 4.3 and Rouen's latitude.

Seeing the northern lights from Rouen

Rouen, at 49.4° N, in the Seine valley, watches a northern horizon partly blocked by the Bois-Guillaume hills. Auroras become visible from Kp 6.5-7. Heading to the heights or surrounding countryside is essential. May 2024 produced auroras observable from the Bonsecours heights and the Pays de Bray.

Observation conditions in Rouen

Bortle 8 over Rouen, with light pollution stretched along the Rouen-Le Havre axis. The Pays de Bray (Bortle 5, 50 km east) and the Eawy forest (Bortle 4, 60 km north) are the best observation points. The northern Seine slopes provide an open horizon. Norman weather demands careful cloud-cover monitoring.

Recent auroras from Rouen

10-11 May 2024 (Kp 9): red aurora visible from the heights north of Rouen, photographed by Ouest-France. 24 March 2024 (Kp 8): sightings from the Pays de Bray. 5 November 2023 (Kp 7): rural observations.

What Rouen asks of the sky

Geomagnetic latitude

51.2°

7 of 40

Kp index required

Kp 7

9 / 12 months

Dark nights per year

332

-33

Rouen ranks 7 of the 40 cities we track, at 51.2° geomagnetic. Caen sits 0° higher , Brest follows at 51°.

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. Le Havre and Caen 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 18.61 mag/arcsec²

Nearest darker sky

Rouen

2 km · Bortle 3

Kp forecast, next 3 days

Source: app.pulsar-si.com. For an aurora to be visible from Rouen, 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 Rouen?

Yes, but rarely. Typically a Kp index of ≥ 7 is needed for the aurora to become visible from Rouen (latitude 49.4° 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 Rouen?

The approximate Kp threshold for Rouen 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 Rouen?

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 Rouen offers better conditions?

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

Nearby cities

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