Is Oulu or Raahe better for the northern lights?

Oulu sits closer to the oval, at 62.3 degrees geomagnetic against 62.1. 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, Oulu or Raahe?

Oulu, with 17.3 hours of civil night on December 15 against 17.2 in Raahe.

What Kp do Oulu and Raahe need?

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

When is it too light for aurora in Oulu and Raahe?

Oulu: May 13 to July 29. Raahe: May 15 to July 27.

Which is clearer, Oulu or Raahe?

Oulu, with 76% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 77% in Raahe (NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020).

Comparison

Oulu vs Raahe for the northern lights

Answer

Oulu sits 0.2 degrees higher on the IGRF-14 dipole, 62.3 against 62.1. By SWPC's oval-edge rule Oulu needs about Kp 2 for the average edge to sit overhead and Raahe Kp 2. On the map Oulu is also closer to the pole, by 0.3 degrees.

62.3° / 62.1°

dipole latitude

Side by side

Computed figures for both towns
Figure	Oulu	Raahe
Dipole latitude	62.3°	62.1°
Kp for the oval edge overhead	Kp 2	Kp 2
Civil night, December 15	17.3 h	17.2 h
Dark-season days	265	267
Nights with no civil darkness	78	74
Dark-month cloud, NASA POWER	76%	77%
Solar midnight, December 15	00:13	00:17

Oulu sits at 62.3 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. Raahe sits at 62.1 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.

Civil night month by month

On December 15 Oulu has 17.3 hours of civil night and Raahe 17.2. Across the 15th of each month, Oulu is darker in 1 months and Raahe in 2. The widest gap comes in December, when Oulu has 0.1 more hours.

Hours of civil night on the 15th of each month, 2026
Month	Oulu	Raahe	Difference
January	16.3 h	16.3 h	+0.0 h
February	13.5 h	13.5 h	+0.0 h
March	10.5 h	10.5 h	+0.0 h
April	6.6 h	6.7 h	-0.1 h
May	0.0 h	0.0 h	+0.0 h
June	0.0 h	0.0 h	+0.0 h
July	0.0 h	0.0 h	+0.0 h
August	4.9 h	5.0 h	-0.1 h
September	9.1 h	9.1 h	+0.0 h
October	12.5 h	12.5 h	+0.0 h
November	15.5 h	15.5 h	+0.0 h
December	17.3 h	17.2 h	+0.1 h

Difference: Oulu minus Raahe. Each figure links to that town's month page.

Season and midnight sun

Oulu has no civil darkness from May 13 to July 29, 78 nights in 2026, and its dark season, 4 or more evening hours of civil night, lasts 265 days. Raahe has no civil darkness from May 15 to July 27, 74 nights in 2026, and its dark season, 4 or more evening hours of civil night, lasts 267 days.

Distance, cloud and time zones

The two towns are 59 km apart by great circle. In the dark months both average about 77% cloud in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record. Oulu's best month by civil night times clear sky is January. Raahe'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 Oulu and Raahe, which carry the live OVATION cell.

Questions

Is Oulu or Raahe better for the northern lights?: Oulu sits closer to the oval, at 62.3 degrees geomagnetic against 62.1. 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, Oulu or Raahe?: Oulu, with 17.3 hours of civil night on December 15 against 17.2 in Raahe.
What Kp do Oulu and Raahe need?: By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Oulu needs about Kp 2 and Raahe Kp 2 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.
When is it too light for aurora in Oulu and Raahe?: Oulu: May 13 to July 29. Raahe: May 15 to July 27.
Which is clearer, Oulu or Raahe?: Oulu, with 76% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 77% in Raahe (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.