Tromsø · 69.6° N · Northern lights
Northern lights in Tromsø tonight Where to go, and when
Aurora Atlas checks the clouds hour by hour at 41 spots around Tromsø, adds aurora activity and darkness, and gives you one answer: the spot to head for, and the hours to be there.
Free on iPhone with iOS 16.4 or later. Formerly Aurora Tromsø Northern Lights: the same app with a new name, and your settings carry over.
What you get in Tromsø
The most detailed guide in the app is the one for this town
41 hand-picked spots
From Telegrafbukta in town to the fjords of Kvaløya and the Lyngen Alps, each with its drive time from where you stay, parking, and the nearest bus stop where there is one.
A score and a time window
Every spot gets a score from 0 to 100 for tonight from low, mid and high cloud, aurora activity, darkness and the moon, plus the best three hours to be there and a Navigate button.
Live sky and road cameras
Look at the sky and the road before you leave the hotel: camera stills from around Tromsø, right next to the forecast.
Road notices
Notices from the road authority are shown on the map, so you hear about a closure or roadworks before you set off, not halfway there.
Polar night planning
From late November to mid-January the sun stays below the horizon. Enter your trip dates and see each night’s darkness, moon and outlook, ranked.
Safer nights out
Spots are chosen where you can stop and park, with winter notes for each one. The app sends you to a place, never to the side of the road.
- viewing spots around Tromsø
- 41
- of them a bus ride from the centre
- 12
- languages in the app
- 8
- aurora destinations in the app
- 35
Spot guides
Read about the spots before you go
Every Tromsø spot has its own page on auroraatlas.app: how dark it is, which way it looks, where to park and how to get there. Close to town, or worth the drive:
- Telegrafbukta 3 km · bus
- Prestvannet 2 km · bus
- Fjellheisen / Storsteinen 2 km · bus
- Ersfjordbotn 25 km · bus
- Grøtfjord 45 km
- Sommarøy 55 km
- Tromvik 50 km
- Lyngseidet 75 km
Which of them is clear tonight is in the app. Weather from MET Norway, aurora data from NOAA. A forecast is never a promise of a sighting.
Before you head out
A winter night outside Tromsø
- Park where parking is allowed. Never stop on the road, in a passing place or a bus stop to look up.
- Dress for colder than town. Inland valleys are often far colder than the harbour. Wear layers, a hat and boots with grip, and bring a torch.
- Stay off the ice. Frozen lakes and the shore can be thinner than they look.
- Check the road first. Mountain roads close in wind and snow; look at the road notices before you drive.
Emergency in Norway: 112 police, 113 ambulance, 110 fire.
Already have the app?
Aurora Tromsø is now Aurora Atlas
Version 2.0 is a free update to the same App Store listing. Your settings come with you, and Tromsø keeps all its spots, cameras and road notices.
iPhones that cannot run iOS 16.4 keep version 1.2.2.
Travelling further?
Lapland, Svalbard and Iceland too
Aurora Atlas covers destinations across Norway, including Svalbard and Lofoten, and in Swedish and Finnish Lapland and Iceland. Pick a new base in the app and the same scores follow you.