Is Jyväskylä or Kuopio better for the northern lights?

Kuopio sits closer to the oval, at 59.9 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, Jyväskylä or Kuopio?

Kuopio, with 16.7 hours of civil night on December 15 against 16.5 in Jyväskylä.

What Kp do Jyväskylä and Kuopio need?

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

When is it too light for aurora in Jyväskylä and Kuopio?

Jyväskylä: May 27 to July 15. Kuopio: May 23 to July 19.

Which is clearer, Jyväskylä or Kuopio?

Jyväskylä, with 77% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 78% in Kuopio (NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020).

Comparison

Jyväskylä vs Kuopio for the northern lights

Answer

Kuopio sits 0.3 degrees higher on the IGRF-14 dipole, 59.9 against 59.6. By SWPC's oval-edge rule Kuopio needs about Kp 4 for the average edge to sit overhead and Jyväskylä Kp 4. On the map Kuopio is also closer to the pole, by 0.7 degrees.

59.6° / 59.9°

dipole latitude

Side by side

Computed figures for both towns
Figure	Jyväskylä	Kuopio
Dipole latitude	59.6°	59.9°
Kp for the oval edge overhead	Kp 4	Kp 4
Civil night, December 15	16.5 h	16.7 h
Dark-season days	283	277
Nights with no civil darkness	50	58
Dark-month cloud, NASA POWER	77%	78%
Solar midnight, December 15	00:12	00:04

Jyväskylä 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. Kuopio sits at 59.9 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 Jyväskylä has 16.5 hours of civil night and Kuopio 16.7. Across the 15th of each month, Jyväskylä is darker in 4 months and Kuopio in 4. The widest gap comes in May, when Jyväskylä has 0.4 more hours.

Hours of civil night on the 15th of each month, 2026
Month	Jyväskylä	Kuopio	Difference
January	15.7 h	15.9 h	-0.2 h
February	13.3 h	13.4 h	-0.1 h
March	10.6 h	10.6 h	+0.0 h
April	7.3 h	7.1 h	+0.2 h
May	3.2 h	2.8 h	+0.4 h
June	0.0 h	0.0 h	+0.0 h
July	0.0 h	0.0 h	+0.0 h
August	5.9 h	5.7 h	+0.2 h
September	9.4 h	9.3 h	+0.1 h
October	12.4 h	12.4 h	+0.0 h
November	15.0 h	15.1 h	-0.1 h
December	16.5 h	16.7 h	-0.2 h

Difference: Jyväskylä minus Kuopio. Each figure links to that town's month page.

Season and midnight sun

Jyväskylä has no civil darkness from May 27 to July 15, 50 nights in 2026, and its dark season, 4 or more evening hours of civil night, lasts 283 days. Kuopio has no civil darkness from May 23 to July 19, 58 nights in 2026, and its dark season, 4 or more evening hours of civil night, lasts 277 days.

Distance, cloud and time zones

The two towns are 124 km apart by great circle. In the dark months both average about 77% cloud in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record. Jyväskylä's best month by civil night times clear sky is March. Kuopio's best month by civil night times clear sky is January. Time zones: Europe/Helsinki and Europe/Helsinki.

For tonight, open the live pages for Jyväskylä and Kuopio, which carry the live OVATION cell.

Questions

Is Jyväskylä or Kuopio better for the northern lights?: Kuopio sits closer to the oval, at 59.9 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, Jyväskylä or Kuopio?: Kuopio, with 16.7 hours of civil night on December 15 against 16.5 in Jyväskylä.
What Kp do Jyväskylä and Kuopio need?: By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Jyväskylä needs about Kp 4 and Kuopio Kp 4 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.
When is it too light for aurora in Jyväskylä and Kuopio?: Jyväskylä: May 27 to July 15. Kuopio: May 23 to July 19.
Which is clearer, Jyväskylä or Kuopio?: Jyväskylä, with 77% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 78% in Kuopio (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.