Key Takeaways
- Glancing blows from two CMEs (launched 9 and 11 June) are arriving today and could lift geomagnetic activity up to G2 (Moderate, Kp 6) tonight, 13 June — the strongest level of this whole run
- Aurora is most likely from northern Scotland — Highlands, Caithness, Orkney, Shetland — with a G2 storm dipping the aurora oval far enough south for a camera chance across northern England too
- June's biggest obstacle isn't the storm, it's the daylight: the sky only gets properly dark between roughly midnight and 2:30am BST, so the viewing window is short
- It started with a surprise G1 (Kp 5) storm on the night of 11 June from a fast solar-wind stream; the incoming CMEs are now giving the show a second wind
- Activity should ease back toward G1 (Minor) on 14 June as the CME effects wane — so tonight is the night to be ready
📑 Table of Contents
The Sun has saved the best for last. After a surprise G1 storm on the night of 11 June, two clouds of solar material — CMEs launched on 9 and 11 June — are now arriving as glancing blows, and forecasters say they could lift geomagnetic activity up to G2 (Moderate) storm levels tonight, 13 June 2026. In plain English: that's a notch stronger than the last two nights, and it pushes the aurora's reach a little further south. Northern Scotland is the prime spot, with a camera-only chance creeping into northern England if the storm peaks. It's still a modest event compared with last week's G3 — think a green glow low on the northern horizon rather than overhead curtains — and June's short nights keep the window tight. But if you're under clear skies in the Highlands or the Northern Isles, tonight is the best chance of the week, so it's well worth a look between midnight and 2:30am.
What Caused This Alert?
This week's show has had two acts. Act one was a fast stream of solar wind from a coronal hole — a region of the Sun's outer atmosphere where the magnetic field opens out into space, letting solar wind escape at high speed. That stream, helped along by a knot of compressed solar wind called a co-rotating interaction region, delivered a surprise G1 (Minor, Kp 5) storm late on 11 June, briefly switching the aurora on over Scotland.
Act two — tonight — is the bigger one. Back on 9 and 11 June the Sun also launched a pair of coronal mass ejections (CMEs): vast clouds of charged particles fired into space. Both are only clipping Earth rather than hitting us head-on, but those glancing blows are arriving today, 13 June, layered on top of the fast wind that's still flowing. Forecasters say the combination could lift geomagnetic activity up to G2 (Moderate, Kp 6) levels — a step above the last two nights, and the strongest point of the whole run. A CME impact is more like a sudden shove than the coronal hole's steady breeze, so the activity may come in sharper bursts, then ease back toward G1 (Minor) on 14 June as the effects fade.
Whether we actually see aurora comes down to the usual wildcard: the Bz component of the solar wind's magnetic field. When Bz tips southward, it unlocks Earth's magnetic shield and lets the solar wind pour energy into our atmosphere — that's when the lights switch on. When it points north, even a strong wind stream produces little. Bz can't be predicted in advance, only watched in real time, which is why the alert services below matter so much.
So how strong could it get? The honest answer is that glancing-blow CMEs are hard to pin down: if the densest part of each cloud slides past Earth, we may stay nearer G1 (Minor); if they couple efficiently with our magnetic field, G2 (Moderate, Kp 6) is on the table — and that's the level that nudges the aurora oval far enough south to bring northern England into camera range. Underlying solar activity remains low, with only a slight chance of isolated moderate-class flares from the sunspot regions currently facing us, so tonight's story is really about these incoming clouds and which way that all-important Bz tips.
When Could the Northern Lights Be Visible?
The CME glancing blows are expected to arrive across 13 June, so tonight — the night of 13–14 June — is the peak window for this run, with G2 (Moderate) conditions possible. Activity should then ease back toward G1 (Minor) through 14 June as the clouds pass and their influence fades, before quietening down. In short: if you're going to make the effort one night this week, make it tonight.
The honest caveat — and the Met Office makes it too — is the season. In mid-June, the UK barely gets dark at all. In northern Scotland the sky never reaches true astronomical darkness; the best you get is a deep twilight between roughly 00:00 and 02:30 BST. A G1 aurora is faint to begin with, so a bright sky eats into what you can see. The strategy: be in position by midnight, watch the northern horizon, and let your phone camera do the heavy lifting — it will pick up colour your eyes can't.
Within that window, aurora activity comes in bursts called substorms that can flare up and die away within 20–30 minutes. If AuroraWatch UK goes amber or red during the night, that's your cue — the magnetometers are seeing real disturbance over the UK right now, not a forecast.
Where in the UK Can You See Them?
Aurora visibility depends on your latitude and the storm intensity. If tonight reaches G2 (Kp 6), the aurora oval dips a little further south than the last two nights — here's the realistic picture for tonight, 13–14 June:
Northern Scotland — Best chance tonight. This is the prime zone for the event. The Highlands, Cairngorms, Caithness, Orkney, and Shetland are your best bets — the further north, the better, both for the aurora oval and because Shetland's twilight, while bright, sits under the most active part of the sky. If activity reaches G2, a low green arc could become visible to the naked eye, with pillars and colour showing up clearly on camera. Find a north-facing viewpoint away from town lights and watch from midnight onwards.
Central Scotland, Northern England and Northern Ireland — In play if it peaks. A G2 storm brings Edinburgh, Glasgow, Northumberland, the Lake District, and the north coast of Northern Ireland into camera-only territory — and a naked-eye glow on the northern horizon isn't out of the question if the storm hits the top of the forecast. Get somewhere genuinely dark with a clear view north and take long-exposure phone shots even if your eyes see nothing. This is the night it's worth the effort.
Wales, the Midlands, and southern England — Probably not tonight. Even a G2 storm in June twilight is unlikely to reach these latitudes in any visible way. The good news: at Solar Maximum the next bigger event is never far away — the 8 June G3 reached camera range as far south as Northumberland, and stronger storms will come. Bookmark this page; it's updated with every fresh alert.
How to See the Northern Lights Tonight
If you're in northern Scotland — or anywhere in the northern UK — tonight, a few simple steps make all the difference for a G1-to-G2 event:
- Check AuroraWatch UK first. There's no point heading out if UK magnetometers are showing green. Wait for amber or red before making the effort. aurorawatch.lancs.ac.uk — free alerts by email.
- Wait for the darkest hours. In mid-June the sky doesn't properly darken until around 00:00–00:30 BST, even in Scotland. A bright twilight sky will drown out a faint aurora, so timing matters. Your window is roughly 00:00–02:30 BST.
- Get away from light pollution. Even a G2 aurora low on the horizon is easily lost to streetlights. Use lightpollutionmap.info to find a genuinely dark spot with a clear view north — at least a mile from town lights.
- Face north and use your phone camera. Modern smartphones in Night Mode or Pro mode see more aurora than the naked eye. Point the camera north and take a shot even if you cannot see anything — the camera often picks up colour on the horizon that's invisible to the eye.
- Don't wait for the perfect moment. Aurora activity comes in bursts (substorms) that can switch on and off within 20–30 minutes. Check repeatedly from 00:00 through 02:30 BST — tonight is the peak of this run, so make it count.
Why 2026 Is One of the Best Years Ever for Aurora in the UK
This week is a perfect snapshot of life at Solar Maximum: a G3 CME storm on 8 June, a surprise coronal hole stream that brought a G1 storm on 11 June, and now a pair of CMEs arriving as glancing blows that could push tonight (13 June) up to G2. Three separate aurora drivers in a single week. We are at or very near the peak of Solar Cycle 25, and the Sun is producing aurora opportunities for the UK at a pace not seen in decades.
The Sun goes through an 11-year cycle of rising and falling magnetic activity. At Solar Maximum, sunspot numbers are highest, more powerful flares erupt, and coronal mass ejections are launched far more frequently. Coronal holes — like the one driving this week's event — add a steady drumbeat of fast solar wind between the big eruptions. It all translates directly into more geomagnetic storms reaching UK latitudes: events that a decade ago happened once or twice a year now occur every few weeks.
Over the past two years, the Northern Lights have been photographed from Cornwall, Kent, the Channel Islands, and central London during the most powerful G4 and G5 storms. A G2 like tonight's won't repeat that — but it keeps the streak alive, and it's a reminder that the next big one is always brewing. There are currently five sunspot regions on the Earth-facing disc, the most active of which is still magnetically complex enough to fire off moderate-class flares.
Solar Maximum activity is expected to tail off through 2027 as we head back toward Solar Minimum. The window for reliable, frequent aurora from UK latitudes is still open — but it won't stay open forever. Every clear night in northern Scotland this summer is a chance worth taking.
How to Stay Updated
G2 (Moderate) conditions are possible tonight as the CMEs arrive, easing back toward G1 (Minor) on 14 June — so this remains a live watch right through the weekend. The best places to track developments in real time:
- AuroraWatch UK (Lancaster University) — free email and app alerts. Set it now and you will get pinged the moment conditions are elevated enough to see aurora from your latitude.
- Met Office Space Weather — the official UK forecast service, updated several times daily during active events.
- SpaceWeatherLive — real-time Kp index, aurora oval maps, and solar activity tracker. Their app lets you set a Kp threshold notification.
- SpaceWeather.com — daily solar activity bulletins and ongoing aurora alerts.
Catch the glow tonight? We'd love to see your shots — share them with @watchthestarsuk on Instagram. Clear skies! 🔭
📡 Live Updates: This post is updated whenever a new aurora event is forecast for the UK. Bookmark it and check back — we refresh it rather than writing a new article each time, so you always get the latest information in one place.
