Aurora forecast / December

Northern lights in Iceland in December

Maximum darkness, minimum daylight.

Around the solstice Reykjavík gets roughly four hours of daylight, which means the aurora window is enormous — you can realistically be watching from late afternoon. The same caveat as January applies: this is storm season, and cloud is the thing most likely to stop you. The upside is that you get many hours of opportunity each night rather than a narrow window.

How dark does it get in December?

  • Reykjavík: 15 hours dark enough for aurora
  • Akureyri: 15 hours dark enough for aurora

Measured on the 15th of the month — the hours the sun sits far enough below the horizon for aurora to be visible.

Roads and access in December

Frequent closures; check road.is before every leg. F-roads shut.

What else is happening

Ice caves, Christmas markets and the shortest days of the year.

Every month

January · February · March · April · May · June · July · August · September · October · November · December

Tonight's aurora forecast · Iceland weather map