Is Seinäjoki or Kauhava better for the northern lights?

Kauhava sits closer to the oval, at 60.8 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, Seinäjoki or Kauhava?

Kauhava, with 16.7 hours of civil night on December 15 against 16.6 in Seinäjoki.

What Kp do Seinäjoki and Kauhava need?

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

When is it too light for aurora in Seinäjoki and Kauhava?

Seinäjoki: May 23 to July 18. Kauhava: May 22 to July 20.

Which is clearer, Seinäjoki or Kauhava?

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

Comparison

Seinäjoki vs Kauhava for the northern lights

Answer

Kauhava sits 0.3 degrees higher on the IGRF-14 dipole, 60.8 against 60.5. By SWPC's oval-edge rule Kauhava needs about Kp 3 for the average edge to sit overhead and Seinäjoki Kp 3. On the map Kauhava is also closer to the pole, by 0.3 degrees.

60.5° / 60.8°

dipole latitude

Side by side

Computed figures for both towns
Figure	Seinäjoki	Kauhava
Dipole latitude	60.5°	60.8°
Kp for the oval edge overhead	Kp 3	Kp 3
Civil night, December 15	16.6 h	16.7 h
Dark-season days	279	277
Nights with no civil darkness	57	60
Dark-month cloud, NASA POWER	76%	77%
Solar midnight, December 15	00:24	00:23

Seinäjoki 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. Kauhava sits at 60.8 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 Seinäjoki has 16.6 hours of civil night and Kauhava 16.7. Across the 15th of each month, Seinäjoki is darker in 3 months and Kauhava in 2. The widest gap comes in May, when Seinäjoki has 0.2 more hours.

Hours of civil night on the 15th of each month, 2026
Month	Seinäjoki	Kauhava	Difference
January	15.9 h	15.9 h	+0.0 h
February	13.4 h	13.4 h	+0.0 h
March	10.6 h	10.6 h	+0.0 h
April	7.1 h	7.1 h	+0.0 h
May	2.8 h	2.6 h	+0.2 h
June	0.0 h	0.0 h	+0.0 h
July	0.0 h	0.0 h	+0.0 h
August	5.7 h	5.6 h	+0.1 h
September	9.4 h	9.3 h	+0.1 h
October	12.4 h	12.4 h	+0.0 h
November	15.1 h	15.2 h	-0.1 h
December	16.6 h	16.7 h	-0.1 h

Difference: Seinäjoki minus Kauhava. Each figure links to that town's month page.

Season and midnight sun

Seinäjoki has no civil darkness from May 23 to July 18, 57 nights in 2026, and its dark season, 4 or more evening hours of civil night, lasts 279 days. Kauhava has no civil darkness from May 22 to July 20, 60 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 36 km apart by great circle. In the dark months both average about 77% cloud in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record. Seinäjoki's best month by civil night times clear sky is March. Kauhava's best month by civil night times clear sky is March. Time zones: Europe/Helsinki and Europe/Helsinki.

For tonight, open the live pages for Seinäjoki and Kauhava, which carry the live OVATION cell.

Questions

Is Seinäjoki or Kauhava better for the northern lights?: Kauhava sits closer to the oval, at 60.8 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, Seinäjoki or Kauhava?: Kauhava, with 16.7 hours of civil night on December 15 against 16.6 in Seinäjoki.
What Kp do Seinäjoki and Kauhava need?: By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Seinäjoki needs about Kp 3 and Kauhava Kp 3 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.
When is it too light for aurora in Seinäjoki and Kauhava?: Seinäjoki: May 23 to July 18. Kauhava: May 22 to July 20.
Which is clearer, Seinäjoki or Kauhava?: Seinäjoki, with 76% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 77% in Kauhava (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.