Is Levanger or Mo i Rana better for the northern lights?

Mo i Rana sits closer to the oval, at 65.2 degrees geomagnetic against 63.2. 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, Levanger or Mo i Rana?

Mo i Rana, with 17.7 hours of civil night on December 15 against 16.9 in Levanger.

What Kp do Levanger and Mo i Rana need?

By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Levanger needs about Kp 2 and Mo i Rana Kp 1 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.

When is it too light for aurora in Levanger and Mo i Rana?

Levanger: May 19 to July 23. Mo i Rana: May 8 to August 3.

Which is clearer, Levanger or Mo i Rana?

Mo i Rana, with 80% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 80% in Levanger (NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020).

Comparison

Levanger vs Mo i Rana for the northern lights

Answer

Mo i Rana sits 1.9 degrees higher on the IGRF-14 dipole, 65.2 against 63.2. By SWPC's oval-edge rule Mo i Rana needs about Kp 1 for the average edge to sit overhead and Levanger Kp 2. On the map Mo i Rana is also closer to the pole, by 2.6 degrees.

63.2° / 65.2°

dipole latitude

Side by side

Computed figures for both towns
Figure	Levanger	Mo i Rana
Dipole latitude	63.2°	65.2°
Kp for the oval edge overhead	Kp 2	Kp 1
Civil night, December 15	16.9 h	17.7 h
Dark-season days	273	257
Nights with no civil darkness	66	88
Dark-month cloud, NASA POWER	80%	80%
Solar midnight, December 15	00:10	23:59

Levanger sits at 63.2 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 2. Mo i Rana sits at 65.2 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 1.

Civil night month by month

On December 15 Levanger has 16.9 hours of civil night and Mo i Rana 17.7. Across the 15th of each month, Levanger is darker in 5 months and Mo i Rana in 5. The widest gap comes in May, when Levanger has 1.9 more hours.

Hours of civil night on the 15th of each month, 2026
Month	Levanger	Mo i Rana	Difference
January	16.0 h	16.7 h	-0.7 h
February	13.4 h	13.7 h	-0.3 h
March	10.5 h	10.4 h	+0.1 h
April	6.9 h	6.2 h	+0.7 h
May	1.9 h	0.0 h	+1.9 h
June	0.0 h	0.0 h	+0.0 h
July	0.0 h	0.0 h	+0.0 h
August	5.4 h	4.3 h	+1.1 h
September	9.3 h	8.9 h	+0.4 h
October	12.4 h	12.5 h	-0.1 h
November	15.3 h	15.8 h	-0.5 h
December	16.9 h	17.7 h	-0.8 h

Difference: Levanger minus Mo i Rana. Each figure links to that town's month page.

Season and midnight sun

Levanger has no civil darkness from May 19 to July 23, 66 nights in 2026, and its dark season, 4 or more evening hours of civil night, lasts 273 days. Mo i Rana has no civil darkness from May 8 to August 3, 88 nights in 2026, and its dark season, 4 or more evening hours of civil night, lasts 257 days.

Distance, cloud and time zones

The two towns are 315 km apart by great circle. In the dark months both average about 80% cloud in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record. Levanger's best month by civil night times clear sky is December. Mo i Rana's best month by civil night times clear sky is January. Time zones: Europe/Oslo and Europe/Oslo.

For tonight, open the live pages for Levanger and Mo i Rana, which carry the live OVATION cell.

Questions

Is Levanger or Mo i Rana better for the northern lights?: Mo i Rana sits closer to the oval, at 65.2 degrees geomagnetic against 63.2. 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, Levanger or Mo i Rana?: Mo i Rana, with 17.7 hours of civil night on December 15 against 16.9 in Levanger.
What Kp do Levanger and Mo i Rana need?: By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Levanger needs about Kp 2 and Mo i Rana Kp 1 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.
When is it too light for aurora in Levanger and Mo i Rana?: Levanger: May 19 to July 23. Mo i Rana: May 8 to August 3.
Which is clearer, Levanger or Mo i Rana?: Mo i Rana, with 80% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 80% in Levanger (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.