My Aurora Forecast Pro

Review by eFreeware

If you plan trips around the Northern Lights, or you keep half an eye on geomagnetic activity from home, My Aurora Forecast Pro is built for you. It is a paid weather app from JRustonApps B.V. that gathers aurora forecasts, solar data and viewing information into one place. It suits both casual tourists and dedicated aurora watchers, since it spans a quick check of tonight's odds and the solar wind numbers behind them.

The app was released in February 2016 and has built a 4.8 average from more than 4,000 ratings, with over 50,000 installs. It costs $3.99 up front, contains no ads, and offers in-app purchases. For that price you get the same feature set as the free version of the app, with no advertising.

What I like about the concept is the split between instant answers and planning tools. You can check how likely the aurora is right now, or look weeks ahead to line up a trip. That combination is what makes it more than a novelty for anyone who takes aurora viewing seriously.

KP index and the probability readout

The headline feature is the current KP index, a measure of geomagnetic activity, paired with a plain assessment of your chances of seeing the Northern Lights. That is the number most aurora chasers check first, and having it presented alongside a visibility estimate saves you from interpreting raw geomagnetic data yourself.

It also shows where viewing conditions are best at the moment. For someone deciding whether to drive out to a dark spot tonight, that combination of a KP reading and a ranked list of places is the core of the experience. It is the kind of thing you would check in the evening before committing to a late night outdoors.

A world map, built on the SWPC ovation aurora forecast, shows aurora strength across the globe. That gives a spatial view of the auroral oval rather than a single number for your position, which matters if you are weighing several destinations or watching activity shift over a few hours.

Forecasts, alerts and live cameras

Beyond the current conditions, the app provides forecasts for the next hour, the coming several hours, and several weeks ahead. The long-range view is the one that stands out for trip planning: if you are booking flights to a northern destination months out, you cannot know the weather, but you can at least understand seasonal activity patterns. The developer notes that all forecasts are subject to weather conditions, which is a fair caveat given how much cloud cover matters on the night.

Alerts and push notifications go out ahead of expected high auroral activity. For anyone who does not want to babysit a forecast page, that is the practical way to catch a good night. The app tells you when it is worth going outside.

There are also live aurora webcams from around the world. These are useful for a reality check: if cameras near a location you are considering show clear skies and activity, that is more informative than any index. Solar wind statistics and high-resolution sun imagery round out the data side for readers who want to understand what is driving the forecast.

Tour information covers destinations such as Iceland, Alaska and Canada, with operators the developer recommends. If you are planning a first aurora trip and would rather not assemble the logistics yourself, this section points you toward organized options.

What it costs and what it asks of you

The app is a one-time $3.99 purchase. It contains no ads, and in-app purchases are available. Pro removes the ads while keeping the same features.

The main requirement is a genuine interest in aurora viewing. This is a specialized tool, and its value depends on how often you check geomagnetic conditions or plan northern trips. Someone who looks at the Northern Lights once on a holiday may find a free forecast sufficient; a regular watcher or frequent traveler will get more out of the dedicated data and alerts.

The app was updated in September 2026 with improved support for tablets and foldable phones, along with bug fixes and performance improvements. That suggests ongoing maintenance rather than a static release, which is reassuring for a paid app in a niche category.

Getting the most from it

If you are planning a trip, I would start with the multi-week forecast to pick a destination and rough dates, then narrow down as you get closer using the hourly outlook and the location list. The webcams are worth checking the night before you commit to a long drive, since they show actual conditions rather than probabilities.

For home viewing, the alerts are the feature to lean on. Rather than refreshing a forecast page every evening, enable notifications and let the app flag high-activity periods. Pair that with the KP index reading to judge whether the activity is strong enough to justify heading out.

The solar wind statistics and sun imagery are there for readers who want context, but you do not need to understand them to use the core forecast. The app works as a simple yes-or-no guide if that is all you want from it, and it goes deeper if you are curious about the science.

A focused tool for aurora chasers

My Aurora Forecast Pro does one job and does it with a useful spread of data: current KP index, visibility estimates, a global activity map, forecasts from the next hour to several weeks, alerts, webcams, solar statistics and tour listings. The $3.99 price and absence of ads make it a clean proposition for anyone who checks aurora conditions regularly.

It is not a general weather app, and it does not try to be. The people who will get the most from it are those planning Northern Lights trips or monitoring activity from aurora-prone latitudes. If that describes you, the combination of short-term alerts and long-range planning tools is hard to match in a single download.

For casual viewers who might see the aurora once, the free version of the same app may be enough. But for committed watchers and travelers, the paid version is a reasonable purchase that puts the relevant data in one place.

What's new in version 26.7.4

- Improved support for tablets and foldable phones. - Bug fixes and performance improvements.