Is Buffalo or Portland, Maine better for the northern lights?

Portland, Maine sits closer to the oval, at 52.9 degrees geomagnetic against 52.0. 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, Buffalo or Portland, Maine?

Portland, Maine, with 13.9 hours of civil night on December 15 against 13.8 in Buffalo.

What Kp do Buffalo and Portland, Maine need?

By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Buffalo needs about Kp 7 and Portland, Maine Kp 7 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.

When is it too light for aurora in Buffalo and Portland, Maine?

Buffalo: never, every night has civil darkness. Portland, Maine: never, every night has civil darkness.

Which is clearer, Buffalo or Portland, Maine?

Portland, Maine, with 60% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 70% in Buffalo (NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020).

Comparison

Buffalo vs Portland, Maine for the northern lights

Answer

Portland, Maine sits 0.8 degrees higher on the IGRF-14 dipole, 52.9 against 52.0. By SWPC's oval-edge rule Portland, Maine needs about Kp 7 for the average edge to sit overhead and Buffalo Kp 7. On the map Portland, Maine is also closer to the pole, by 0.8 degrees.

52.0° / 52.9°

dipole latitude

Side by side

Computed figures for both towns
Figure	Buffalo	Portland, Maine
Dipole latitude	52.0°	52.9°
Kp for the oval edge overhead	Kp 7	Kp 7
Civil night, December 15	13.8 h	13.9 h
Dark-season days	365	365
Nights with no civil darkness	0	0
Dark-month cloud, NASA POWER	70%	60%
Solar midnight, December 15	00:11	23:36

Buffalo sits at 52.0 degrees geomagnetic. The lowest NOAA storm level whose typical viewing latitude reaches it is G3 (Kp = 7). By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead only at Kp 7. Portland, Maine sits at 52.9 degrees geomagnetic. The lowest NOAA storm level whose typical viewing latitude reaches it is G3 (Kp = 7). By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead only at Kp 7.

Civil night month by month

On December 15 Buffalo has 13.8 hours of civil night and Portland, Maine 13.9. Across the 15th of each month, Buffalo is darker in 5 months and Portland, Maine in 1. The widest gap comes in July, when Buffalo has 0.2 more hours.

Hours of civil night on the 15th of each month, 2026
Month	Buffalo	Portland, Maine	Difference
January	13.5 h	13.5 h	+0.0 h
February	12.4 h	12.4 h	+0.0 h
March	11.0 h	11.0 h	+0.0 h
April	9.5 h	9.4 h	+0.1 h
May	8.1 h	8.0 h	+0.1 h
June	7.4 h	7.3 h	+0.1 h
July	7.8 h	7.6 h	+0.2 h
August	9.0 h	8.9 h	+0.1 h
September	10.5 h	10.5 h	+0.0 h
October	11.9 h	11.9 h	+0.0 h
November	13.2 h	13.2 h	+0.0 h
December	13.8 h	13.9 h	-0.1 h

Difference: Buffalo minus Portland, Maine. Each figure links to that town's month page.

Season and midnight sun

Buffalo has some civil darkness every night of 2026, and clears Glow's 4-hour dark-season bar every evening. Portland, Maine has some civil darkness every night of 2026, and clears Glow's 4-hour dark-season bar every evening.

Distance, cloud and time zones

The two towns are 703 km apart by great circle. In the dark months Portland, Maine averages 60% cloud and Buffalo 70%, from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record. Buffalo's best month by civil night times clear sky is September. Portland, Maine's best month by civil night times clear sky is September. Time zones: America/New_York and America/New_York.

For tonight, open the live pages for Buffalo and Portland, Maine, which carry the live OVATION cell.

Questions

Is Buffalo or Portland, Maine better for the northern lights?: Portland, Maine sits closer to the oval, at 52.9 degrees geomagnetic against 52.0. 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, Buffalo or Portland, Maine?: Portland, Maine, with 13.9 hours of civil night on December 15 against 13.8 in Buffalo.
What Kp do Buffalo and Portland, Maine need?: By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Buffalo needs about Kp 7 and Portland, Maine Kp 7 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.
When is it too light for aurora in Buffalo and Portland, Maine?: Buffalo: never, every night has civil darkness. Portland, Maine: never, every night has civil darkness.
Which is clearer, Buffalo or Portland, Maine?: Portland, Maine, with 60% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 70% in Buffalo (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.