Is Hamar or Lillehammer better for the northern lights?

Lillehammer sits closer to the oval, at 60.9 degrees geomagnetic against 60.5. 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, Hamar or Lillehammer?

Hamar, with 16.2 hours of civil night on December 15 against 16.2 in Lillehammer.

What Kp do Hamar and Lillehammer need?

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

When is it too light for aurora in Hamar and Lillehammer?

Hamar: June 6 to July 4. Lillehammer: June 3 to July 7.

Which is clearer, Hamar or Lillehammer?

Hamar, with 73% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 74% in Lillehammer (NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020).

Comparison

Hamar vs Lillehammer for the northern lights

Answer

Lillehammer sits 0.4 degrees higher on the IGRF-14 dipole, 60.9 against 60.5. By SWPC's oval-edge rule Lillehammer needs about Kp 3 for the average edge to sit overhead and Hamar Kp 3. On the map Lillehammer is also closer to the pole, by 0.3 degrees.

60.5° / 60.9°

dipole latitude

Side by side

Computed figures for both towns
Figure	Hamar	Lillehammer
Dipole latitude	60.5°	60.9°
Kp for the oval edge overhead	Kp 3	Kp 3
Civil night, December 15	16.2 h	16.2 h
Dark-season days	293	291
Nights with no civil darkness	29	35
Dark-month cloud, NASA POWER	73%	74%
Solar midnight, December 15	00:11	00:13

Hamar sits at 60.5 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. Lillehammer sits at 60.9 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.

Civil night month by month

On December 15 Hamar has 16.2 hours of civil night and Lillehammer 16.2. Across the 15th of each month, Hamar is darker in 3 months and Lillehammer in 1. The widest gap comes in July, when Hamar has 0.3 more hours.

Hours of civil night on the 15th of each month, 2026
Month	Hamar	Lillehammer	Difference
January	15.5 h	15.5 h	+0.0 h
February	13.2 h	13.2 h	+0.0 h
March	10.7 h	10.7 h	+0.0 h
April	7.5 h	7.5 h	+0.0 h
May	4.1 h	3.9 h	+0.2 h
June	0.0 h	0.0 h	+0.0 h
July	2.4 h	2.1 h	+0.3 h
August	6.3 h	6.2 h	+0.1 h
September	9.5 h	9.5 h	+0.0 h
October	12.3 h	12.3 h	+0.0 h
November	14.8 h	14.9 h	-0.1 h
December	16.2 h	16.2 h	+0.0 h

Difference: Hamar minus Lillehammer. Each figure links to that town's month page.

Season and midnight sun

Hamar has no civil darkness from June 6 to July 4, 29 nights in 2026, and its dark season, 4 or more evening hours of civil night, lasts 293 days. Lillehammer has no civil darkness from June 3 to July 7, 35 nights in 2026, and its dark season, 4 or more evening hours of civil night, lasts 291 days.

Distance, cloud and time zones

The two towns are 48 km apart by great circle. In the dark months both average about 74% cloud in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record. Hamar's best month by civil night times clear sky is December. Lillehammer's best month by civil night times clear sky is December. Time zones: Europe/Oslo and Europe/Oslo.

For tonight, open the live pages for Hamar and Lillehammer, which carry the live OVATION cell.

Questions

Is Hamar or Lillehammer better for the northern lights?: Lillehammer sits closer to the oval, at 60.9 degrees geomagnetic against 60.5. 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, Hamar or Lillehammer?: Hamar, with 16.2 hours of civil night on December 15 against 16.2 in Lillehammer.
What Kp do Hamar and Lillehammer need?: By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Hamar needs about Kp 3 and Lillehammer Kp 3 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.
When is it too light for aurora in Hamar and Lillehammer?: Hamar: June 6 to July 4. Lillehammer: June 3 to July 7.
Which is clearer, Hamar or Lillehammer?: Hamar, with 73% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 74% in Lillehammer (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.