Cloud is the aurora hunter's biggest challenge — not low activity. So what actually happens if the sky is overcast on your tour night? Good operators have a plan.
Here's how we handle it in Ruka.
We chase the clear sky
A cloudy sky over Ruka village doesn't mean a cloudy sky everywhere. We watch hour-by-hour cloud maps and drive up to 150 km to find a gap. Mobility is the single biggest advantage of a guided hunt over waiting at your hotel.
Ruka's clear-sky edge
Ruka and Kuusamo average 200+ clear aurora nights a year — among the highest in Finnish Lapland — so fully clouded-out nights are less common than you'd fear.
If we still can't find clear sky
Then our rebook guarantee applies: if aurora is present but cloud blocks it and we can't reach a clear window, you're rebooked on another tour free of charge.
How to protect yourself
Book several nights. Over three nights the odds of at least one clear, aurora-visible evening in Ruka are about 92%. See our aurora tours.