Is Bergen or Stavanger better for the northern lights?

Bergen sits closer to the oval, at 61.0 degrees geomagnetic against 59.6. Darkness, cloud and your dates decide the rest; the tables on this page show both towns month by month.

Which has longer nights in December, Bergen or Stavanger?

Bergen, with 16.1 hours of civil night on December 15 against 15.8 in Stavanger.

What Kp do Bergen and Stavanger need?

By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Bergen needs about Kp 3 and Stavanger Kp 4 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.

When is it too light for aurora in Bergen and Stavanger?

Bergen: June 11 to June 29. Stavanger: never, every night has civil darkness.

Which is clearer, Bergen or Stavanger?

Bergen, with 79% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 81% in Stavanger (NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020).

Comparison

Bergen vs Stavanger for the northern lights

Answer

Bergen sits 1.4 degrees higher on the IGRF-14 dipole, 61.0 against 59.6. By SWPC's oval-edge rule Bergen needs about Kp 3 for the average edge to sit overhead and Stavanger Kp 4. On the map Bergen is also closer to the pole, by 1.4 degrees.

61.0° / 59.6°

dipole latitude

Side by side

Computed figures for both towns
Figure	Bergen	Stavanger
Dipole latitude	61.0°	59.6°
Kp for the oval edge overhead	Kp 3	Kp 4
Civil night, December 15	16.1 h	15.8 h
Dark-season days	297	309
Nights with no civil darkness	19	0
Dark-month cloud, NASA POWER	79%	81%
Solar midnight, December 15	00:34	00:32

Bergen sits at 61.0 degrees geomagnetic, inside SWPC's 60 to 75 degree band, where aurora can be seen on more than half of all nights. No storm is needed: by SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 3. Stavanger sits at 59.6 degrees geomagnetic. By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 4, and aurora is usually visible on the northern horizon at G1 (Kp 5) or less.

Civil night month by month

On December 15 Bergen has 16.1 hours of civil night and Stavanger 15.8. Across the 15th of each month, Bergen is darker in 4 months and Stavanger in 6. The widest gap comes in June, when Stavanger has 2.3 more hours.

Hours of civil night on the 15th of each month, 2026
Month	Bergen	Stavanger	Difference
January	15.4 h	15.2 h	+0.2 h
February	13.2 h	13.1 h	+0.1 h
March	10.7 h	10.7 h	+0.0 h
April	7.6 h	7.9 h	-0.3 h
May	4.3 h	4.8 h	-0.5 h
June	0.0 h	2.3 h	-2.3 h
July	2.8 h	3.7 h	-0.9 h
August	6.4 h	6.8 h	-0.4 h
September	9.6 h	9.7 h	-0.1 h
October	12.3 h	12.3 h	+0.0 h
November	14.8 h	14.6 h	+0.2 h
December	16.1 h	15.8 h	+0.3 h

Difference: Bergen minus Stavanger. Each figure links to that town's month page.

Season and midnight sun

Bergen has no civil darkness from June 11 to June 29, 19 nights in 2026, and its dark season, 4 or more evening hours of civil night, lasts 297 days. Stavanger has some civil darkness every night of 2026, and its dark season, 4 or more evening hours of civil night, lasts 309 days.

Distance, cloud and time zones

The two towns are 160 km apart by great circle. In the dark months Bergen averages 79% cloud and Stavanger 81%, from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record. Bergen's best month by civil night times clear sky is November. Stavanger's best month by civil night times clear sky is October. Time zones: Europe/Oslo and Europe/Oslo.

For tonight, open the live pages for Bergen and Stavanger, which carry the live OVATION cell.

Questions

Is Bergen or Stavanger better for the northern lights?: Bergen sits closer to the oval, at 61.0 degrees geomagnetic against 59.6. Darkness, cloud and your dates decide the rest; the tables on this page show both towns month by month.
Which has longer nights in December, Bergen or Stavanger?: Bergen, with 16.1 hours of civil night on December 15 against 15.8 in Stavanger.
What Kp do Bergen and Stavanger need?: By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Bergen needs about Kp 3 and Stavanger Kp 4 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.
When is it too light for aurora in Bergen and Stavanger?: Bergen: June 11 to June 29. Stavanger: never, every night has civil darkness.
Which is clearer, Bergen or Stavanger?: Bergen, with 79% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 81% in Stavanger (NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020).

Sources and verification

IGRF-14 coefficients, NOAA NCEIhttps://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/IAGA/vmod/coeffs/igrf14coeffs.txt
SunCalchttps://github.com/mourner/suncalc
GeoNameshttps://www.geonames.org/export/
NASA POWER climatologyhttps://power.larc.nasa.gov/docs/services/api/temporal/climatology/
NOAA SWPC, Tips on viewing the aurorahttps://www.spaceweather.gov/content/tips-viewing-aurora

Quoted figures last checked against their sources on 2026-09-30; next review 2026-12-31. Computed figures come from SunCalc and the IGRF-14 dipole as described in the methodology. Every quote is listed in the sources ledger.