Northern Lights Iceland / Tips on how to increase the chance of catching the lights !
Hi im Jonas
A full time guide with 4x4 Adventures Iceland and pleased to give out local tips to you adventurists who are on your way to the land of fire and ice ( and purplegreen dancing lights )
Here below i will answer the most common questions i get about the northern lights !
WHAT ARE THE PERFECT CONDITIONS TO SEE THE NORTHERN LIGHTS?
☑ High northernlight activity ( You can scout for activity at our local weather website ( their activity forecast often turns out to be quite accurate )
☑ Darkness ( The lights are not visible in normal day light )
☑ Clear skies ( That gray thick cloud gonna block your view :( )
☑ Good vibes ( Northern lights stay away from negative people )
WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO SEE THEM ?
1) Depends, if you're resourceful and understand the cloud and activity forecast and ofcourse now you know what the perfect conditions are i highly recommend renting your own car. Most of the time you can be within a 100km radius of Reykjavik to see the lights.
2) You can also do various options of tours with operators who hire experienced locals to guide the tour and take you to the right location.
3) You can also email me ( atv4x4@atv4x4.is ) and ask me if its a possibility to do a northern light hunt on ATV's or ridealong with me in the fast 1000cc RZR buggy car.
There is nothing more spectacular then standing on top of a mountain with a panoramic view over the lights far away from any population, truly a exotic experience !
NORTHERN LIGHT FORECAST HOW DOES IT WORK ?
First of you want to make sure that the activity levels are high enough to give it a shot you simply click this link over here to see the forecast of low and mid level clouds.
- Example at 00;00 tonight. The white spots indicate clear skies and the green layers tell us where its going to be cloudy, darker the color is, the more cloudier its predicted. Tonight as you can see the best option would be to stay around the Reykjavik area, maybe head up to the Blue mountains or Hengill.
Example at 00;00 14 Oct. Doesnt look good, i would rather get early to bed and book a ATV tour in the morning !
Okay now you understand how the low and mid cloud forecast works but you also need to know if there is any activity up there tonight. Click this link
This a automated aurora forecast of where the lights are visible from clear sky. As you can see at the moment i screenshotted this picture the activity levels are not great over Iceland but are favourable in other places in the northern hemisphere.
You can also see a more simpler forecast for Iceland overhere
Everything above 3 is worth the shot if the clouds are clear.
FINAL WORDS
I really hope this post was usefull and now you're ready to go on the hunt once you get here.
Feel free to comment here on the blog if you enjoyed it or contact us directly at atv4x4@atv4x4.is to help you out with booking tours or where to stay while you're here.
J out !
