Is Skellefteå or Piteå better for the northern lights?

Piteå sits closer to the oval, at 63.1 degrees geomagnetic against 62.7. 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, Skellefteå or Piteå?

Piteå, with 17.3 hours of civil night on December 15 against 17.2 in Skellefteå.

What Kp do Skellefteå and Piteå need?

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

When is it too light for aurora in Skellefteå and Piteå?

Skellefteå: May 14 to July 28. Piteå: May 12 to July 30.

Which is clearer, Skellefteå or Piteå?

Piteå, with 72% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 72% in Skellefteå (NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020).

Comparison

Skellefteå vs Piteå for the northern lights

Answer

Piteå sits 0.5 degrees higher on the IGRF-14 dipole, 63.1 against 62.7. By SWPC's oval-edge rule Piteå needs about Kp 2 for the average edge to sit overhead and Skellefteå Kp 2. On the map Piteå is also closer to the pole, by 0.6 degrees.

62.7° / 63.1°

dipole latitude

Side by side

Computed figures for both towns
Figure	Skellefteå	Piteå
Dipole latitude	62.7°	63.1°
Kp for the oval edge overhead	Kp 2	Kp 2
Civil night, December 15	17.2 h	17.3 h
Dark-season days	265	263
Nights with no civil darkness	76	80
Dark-month cloud, NASA POWER	72%	72%
Solar midnight, December 15	23:31	23:29

Skellefteå sits at 62.7 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. Piteå sits at 63.1 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 Skellefteå has 17.2 hours of civil night and Piteå 17.3. Across the 15th of each month, Skellefteå is darker in 2 months and Piteå in 4. The widest gap comes in April, when Skellefteå has 0.2 more hours.

Hours of civil night on the 15th of each month, 2026
Month	Skellefteå	Piteå	Difference
January	16.3 h	16.4 h	-0.1 h
February	13.5 h	13.6 h	-0.1 h
March	10.5 h	10.5 h	+0.0 h
April	6.7 h	6.5 h	+0.2 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	5.0 h	4.8 h	+0.2 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	15.6 h	-0.1 h
December	17.2 h	17.3 h	-0.1 h

Difference: Skellefteå minus Piteå. Each figure links to that town's month page.

Season and midnight sun

Skellefteå has no civil darkness from May 14 to July 28, 76 nights in 2026, and its dark season, 4 or more evening hours of civil night, lasts 265 days. Piteå has no civil darkness from May 12 to July 30, 80 nights in 2026, and its dark season, 4 or more evening hours of civil night, lasts 263 days.

Distance, cloud and time zones

The two towns are 68 km apart by great circle. In the dark months both average about 72% cloud in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record. Skellefteå's best month by civil night times clear sky is December. Piteå's best month by civil night times clear sky is December. Time zones: Europe/Stockholm and Europe/Stockholm.

For tonight, open the live pages for Skellefteå and Piteå, which carry the live OVATION cell.

Questions

Is Skellefteå or Piteå better for the northern lights?: Piteå sits closer to the oval, at 63.1 degrees geomagnetic against 62.7. 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, Skellefteå or Piteå?: Piteå, with 17.3 hours of civil night on December 15 against 17.2 in Skellefteå.
What Kp do Skellefteå and Piteå need?: By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Skellefteå needs about Kp 2 and Piteå Kp 2 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.
When is it too light for aurora in Skellefteå and Piteå?: Skellefteå: May 14 to July 28. Piteå: May 12 to July 30.
Which is clearer, Skellefteå or Piteå?: Piteå, with 72% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 72% in Skellefteå (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.