November 2024

November 23rd

• Guests / Country: 15 guests from Ireland, Israel, India, Taiwan, UAE and UK. 1 seat available.
  
• Weather Tromsø: .
• Destination / weather: .
• Aurora activity: /10.
• Aurora show: .
• Visible for the naked eyes: .
• Tour km: .
• Tour hrs: .

November 20th

• Guests / Country: 13 guests from Mexico, India, Brasil, China, Ireland and UK.
  
• Weather Tromsø: Clear.
• Destination / weather: Henrikvika / Grøtfjord / clear.
• Aurora activity: 7/10.
• Aurora show: All over and little towards south, curls, spikes and curtains. Little dancing and a couple of faint coronas.
• Visible for the naked eyes: Green and little pink.
• Tour km: 75.
• Tour hrs: 5.

Finally we got a clear sky in Tromsø and on the coast, the first one since October 19th (!). And since that it has been four weeks with bad weather, especially the last week, but then I was off from work ... good planning ;)

So, I just make a short one and went to the most popular Aurora fjord 40 km west of Tromsø, Grøtfjord.

We had to make a short stop on the way out, since the activity was starting super early, just after a 20 mins drive out from the city, and when we stopped at one of my favorite location the whole sky was already filled up with Auroras.

Since it was a early start with good activity, we did a early return and was back in the city already by midnight, but the activity was also over for tonight, so it was no reason to stay longer and wait for nothing ...

November 19th

• Guests / Country: 16 guests from Mexico, Taiwan, Singapore, Germany, Poland, Switzerland and USA.
  
• Weather Tromsø: Cloudy.
• Destination / weather: Skogsfjord / Grunnfjord / cloudy / haze / gaps in clouds.
• Aurora activity: 0/10.
• Aurora show: Too cloudy !
• Visible for the naked eyes: Nothing.
• Tour km: 210.
• Tour hrs: 7.
• Wildlife: One reindeer.

Tonight the weather forecast showed the best sky on the coast with high clouds and little clearer before midnight ... but, it didn`t really happened ...

We drove first to the NW side of Ringvassøy island, set camp fire on the beach and waited, but the only we saw on the sky was the moon behind a cloud layer.

It was coming in different messages about more visible stars little further NE so we headed there while many buses went back to the city, but I decided to give it an extra shot and just wait little longer ... and we got little clear sky and many stars ... but, the activity was slim ... so one hours later at 1 am we returned back to the city ...

Tonight the best Aurora activity was between 2 pm (!) to 10 pm.

After dropping off the guests in the city, and when I arrived my home 40 km north on the same island where we was, the sky got lovely clear (pics) at 3.30 am ... so, the clear sky was about four hours delayed ....

November 18th

• Guests / Country: 13 guests from Mexico, China, Germany and UK.
  
• Weather Tromsø: Cloudy.
• Destination / weather: Dyrøya bridge / cloudy / haze / gaps in clouds.
• Aurora activity: 3/10.
• Aurora show: Couple of stripes across the sky, spikes and curls. Little dancing.
• Visible for the naked eyes: Faint white and maybe little green.
• Tour km: 380.
• Tour hrs: 8.
• Wildlife: One fox ... and two moose after dropping off my guests.

Tonight I could do it easy like all my good colleagues did by drive short out to sommarøy 60 km west of the city, but I decided to do the long drive, since I was fit for fight after a eight nights break ...

So, we headed far south for see if we came in front of the cloudy weather front, and partly we had success, but in the area we ended up it was too much street lights, so finally I decided to stop by a bridge ... with street lights there too.

But, it was good we stopped just then, since the activity was started at the same moment my guests was outside the bus.

And after chatting with some other guides and see theirs pics, we got actually the best sky for tonight`s show ;)

November 9th

• Guests / Country: 16 guests from India, South Korea, Switzerland, USA and UK.
  
• Weather Tromsø: Cloudy.
• Destination / weather: Bardufoss / part clear.
• Aurora activity: 7/10.
• Aurora show: Far south and little above, curls, spikes and curtains. Little dancing in two colors.
• Visible for the naked eyes: Bright green and little pink.
• Tour km: 275.
• Tour hrs: 7.
• Wildlife: Sound of bells around us, so there was a group of reindeers at the mountain plateau.

Finally a change in which direction we drove, since it has been many nights in row towards east lately, towards Skibotn and Finland ... so, this night we headed south.

The sky began to be clear around 110 km south of the city, but I continued little more since I had a lovely mountains location in my mind, where we could enjoy the silence for us self, since probably not so many guides knew about this option.

The sky was mostly clear when we arrived, and there was already Aurora on the sky ... yeah, we had missed a lot during our drive and before, since the activity was started already at 1 pm this afternoon, and probably the best show was at 6 pm, before I met my guests for tonight`s chase.

And it was a special evening, since all the activity was on the south east sky only, nothing towards north.

We was close to leave this beautiful mountains, since it suddenly got totally overcast after an hour, but when I started to drive, the sky cleared up again, so we drove backwards 150 meter to the same parking spot and stay there rest of the evening.

November 8th

• Guests / Country: 16 guests from Italy, Germany, India, China and UK.
  
• Weather Tromsø: Cloudy / rain / very strong wind.
• Destination / weather: Finnish border / part clear.
• Aurora activity: 6/10.
• Aurora show: All over and far south, but faint. Curtains, curls and spikes. A couple of small coronas. Two colord on camera.
• Visible for the naked eyes: White and little red glowing.
• Tour km: 295.
• Tour hrs: 6,5.

When I drove into the city and passed the bridge by the airport it showed 42 (!) m/s, but since I had the very strong wind in the back it didn`t blinked red ... but, it did from the opposite side where the wind hit the bridge from the side ...

I understood that the driving conditions could be a challenge this evening ... but, it went well, and I think it was much less wind than it was forecasted ... but, that was until I opened the bus door 15 km from the border, when I should check the sky ... the wind came from the behind with the result it broken the drivers door ... shit happens !!

So, when I found a place for the night up in the mountains closer to the border, I was super careful which direction the bus was parked, so the passengers sidedoor was in shelter.

It was very windy outdoor, but it was plus degrees so the wind didn`t bothering my guests and me too much, but we had to take care of the tripods, so they didn`t tilt over and we got crashed cameras ...

The Northern Lights was all over and colorful on cameras, but it was faint ... tonight`s best show was probably one hour before we arrived the clear sky ... and 30 mins after we had left ... that`s the game with the weather here in the Arctic.

November 7th - Private Aurora Chase

• Guests / Country: 4 guests from Brasil.
  
• Weather Tromsø: Cloudy / rain.
• Destination / weather: Storfjord / Skibotndalen valley / part clear / rain.
• Aurora activity: 4/10.
• Aurora show: Several stripes across the sky, curls, spikes and little dancing curtains.
• Visible for the naked eyes: Faint green.
• Tour km: 275.
• Tour hrs: 6,5.
• Wildlife: 1+2 moose.

Is this the new normal ? +16 degrees celcius, rain and strong wind ... it´s November 7th !!

A new tricky weather night, and tonight I didn`t had so much hope to see anything, but as mention before; The clouds are moving and the weather forecast for the Arctic are never accurate, so again we found partly clear sky and got to see the Northern Lights.

After a short detour for checking the weather conditions in an another valley, incl. Moose Safari, we was just a few km away from Skibotn, when I saw the Northern Lights glimpsed up on the west sky while we was driving in heavy rain ...

So, I just had to turn into the first parking spot I found and there we got our first shots of Lady Aurora performance.

Then we continued to Skibotn and set camp at Lake Goaki, where we had a huge gap in the clouds towards south and east ... and we was lucky since most of tonight`s show was on the south sky ... but, we missed a lot cause the heavy clouds at all another sky directions ...

November 6th

• Guests / Country: 16 guests from Taiwan and UK.
  
• Weather Tromsø: Cloudy / rain.
• Destination / weather: Finnish Lapland & border / hole in clouds / part clear.
• Aurora activity: 5/10.
• Aurora show: Several stripes across, curtains, curls and spikes. Little dancing with two colors visible.
• Visible for the naked eyes: Bright green and faint pink.
• Tour km: 350.
• Tour hrs: 8,5.
• Wildlife: 2+2 moose.

A new tricky weather night, where I didn`t thought we should found so much clear sky ... but, you never know here in the Arctic and the weather forecast was totally wrong ... again.

We went 20 km inside the Finnish border where we found a gap in the clouds, and since my colleagues further in and back down in the valley reported about the same conditions, I choosed to stay put and just wait ...

Patience is King !

The small cloud hole got larger and the little of Aurora we saw got better and better, so we stayed there a couple of hours and had a nice moment, and the guests was happy too, so no better than that when the weather conditions is so difficult.

On the return we had to make a new stop atr the border, since both the sky and Aurora got clearer and more activity arrived.

Very late return at 3.30 am back to Cunard Queen Mary 2, where all my guests had theirs accommodation.

November 3rd

• Guests / Country: 16 guests from Germany, Italy, Bulgaria, Hong Kong, Norway and USA.
  
• Weather Tromsø: Cloudy / sleet / snow.
• Destination / weather: Skibotndalen valley / the Finnish border / part clear / fog / part clear / clear.
• Aurora activity: 7/10.
• Aurora show: All over and far south, curls and spikes, and little dancing curtains. A couple of coronas.
• Visible for the naked eyes: Bright green.
• Tour km: 315.
• Tour hrs: 7,5. 

Finally on the third try we reached Finland, but only across the border with a couple of km.

We had to make a stop down in the valley too, since it was a gap towards NE with good Aurora, and then we made a stop just a few km before the border since Aurora was bright red (on camera), but there the fog took quickly over, so we had to escape.

Again the Northern Lights was towards south, and our final location was perfect with clear sky, but suddenly clouds built up around the southern Aurora, but then the activity got larger and went above the clouds and towards the west sky which was clear.

And then we got Northern Lights all over ...

November 2nd

• Guests / Country: 16 guests from Germany, Portugal, China, USA and UK.
  
• Weather Tromsø: Cloudy / rain / snow.
• Destination / weather: Finnish border / clear.
• Aurora activity: 8/10.
• Aurora show: All over and far south, moving curtains, curls, spikes and couple of coronas.
• Visible for the naked eyes: Bright green and red glowing.
• Tour km: 7.
• Tour hrs: 300.

2nd night in row I was planned to drive into Finnish Lapland, but when we came 7 km before the border the sky was good enough, and the Northern Lights was all over ...

It was guides, buses and rental cars all over, but I found a free place to stay between them ... a great one, so it was strange no-one had taken this one.

Reports from the border says strong wind, but here it was no wind, so in 10 minus degrees it was just a perfect place to stay.

The Northern Lights was all over, especially towards south and it got better and better, also with glowing red, visible for the naked eyes.

November 1st

• Guests / Country: 14 guests from Germany, Italy, USA and UK.
  
• Weather Tromsø: Part clear / incoming snow.
• Destination / weather: Oteren / Skibotndalen valley / part clear / clear / overcast / snow.
• Aurora activity: 3/10.
• Aurora show: Only a couple of stripes low on the north sky. Two colors on camera.
• Visible for the naked eyes: Just a white stripe.
• Tour km: 275.
• Tour hrs: 6,5.
• Wildlife: 2 moose.
• Space show: A huge orange fireball.

First I planned to drive far into Finnish Lapland, but the activity started early so we had to make a stop before for catch the first show ... which was slim ...

20 km before the border we made the final stop since the sky was perfectly clear and the little glimpse of Aurora we got begins to be little brighter ...

But, then the chase ended quickly since the forecasted weather front reached us and cover the sky ... so, since the activity was low and the cloud cover was too fast it was no reason to drive further, so we returned back to the city.

On the return we met two moose in the snowstorm, and it went close to a crash into them when they suddenly crossed the road, but when they heard the noise from the breaks they stopped ...

... and thanks for that, since I was already planned which part of the bus they should hit ... it rise my heart rythm ... not a funny experience, but it was not the first time I met the forest king in middle of the roads, so ...