"The dominating wind direction in this area is from the west, which means that moist air masses from the Atlantic have to rise to higher (colder) altitudes to pass over the Scandinavian Mountains. Håkan Grudd, research support coordinator and deputy station manager of the Abisko Scientific Research Station, explained further. The only thing needed is cloud-free conditions." And, he added, Abisko has those in spades thanks to its position on the eastern side of the Scandinavian Mountain Range, which runs along the Norway-Sweden border. "This is due to the fact that it lies within the Auroral oval and it has a very long dark season – auroral observations are reported from mid-August to April – so there are plenty of Northern Lights around. "Abisko, and northern Sweden, is indeed an ideal place to watch it," said Erik Kjellström, professor in climatology at the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute, in an email. This phenomenon makes Abisko one of the best places in the world to consistently witness the Aurora Borealis.
Where to see the northern lights Patch#
I'd been here before under similar storm conditions, and I'd quickly learned that Abisko is home to a " blue hole", a patch of sky that extends 10 to 20 sq km over the village, Lake Torneträsk and Abisko National Park and that remains clear regardless of surrounding weather patterns. To witness this Aurora activity, we needed frigid, clear, cloudless skies, not the winter storm we were currently slogging through. The displays occur when explosions on the sun's surface, called solar flares, collide with gases in the Earth's atmosphere to create shimmering bands of red, green and purple. We were heading up to photograph the elusive Northern Lights – nature's spectacular light show, also known as the Aurora Borealis. We were caught in the middle of a snowstorm with zero visibility, and all around us, the mountains of Abisko National Park had become a sea of white. I was driving us up the single-lane highway towards one of Sweden's northernmost villages, Abisko, located 250km north of the Arctic Circle.
"I'm not so sure we'll see them," said my videographer colleague Erik Jaråker, as he looked at the fog all around.
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