Is Stavanger or Kristiansand better for the northern lights?

Stavanger sits closer to the oval, at 59.6 degrees geomagnetic against 58.4. 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, Stavanger or Kristiansand?

Stavanger, with 15.8 hours of civil night on December 15 against 15.7 in Kristiansand.

What Kp do Stavanger and Kristiansand need?

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

When is it too light for aurora in Stavanger and Kristiansand?

Stavanger: never, every night has civil darkness. Kristiansand: never, every night has civil darkness.

Which is clearer, Stavanger or Kristiansand?

Kristiansand, with 77% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 81% in Stavanger (NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020).

Comparison

Stavanger vs Kristiansand for the northern lights

Answer

Stavanger sits 1.1 degrees higher on the IGRF-14 dipole, 59.6 against 58.4. By SWPC's oval-edge rule Stavanger needs about Kp 4 for the average edge to sit overhead and Kristiansand Kp 4. On the map Stavanger is also closer to the pole, by 0.8 degrees.

59.6° / 58.4°

dipole latitude

Side by side

Computed figures for both towns
Figure	Stavanger	Kristiansand
Dipole latitude	59.6°	58.4°
Kp for the oval edge overhead	Kp 4	Kp 4
Civil night, December 15	15.8 h	15.7 h
Dark-season days	309	318
Nights with no civil darkness	0	0
Dark-month cloud, NASA POWER	81%	77%
Solar midnight, December 15	00:32	00:23

Stavanger 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. Kristiansand sits at 58.4 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 Stavanger has 15.8 hours of civil night and Kristiansand 15.7. Across the 15th of each month, Stavanger is darker in 4 months and Kristiansand in 7. The widest gap comes in June, when Kristiansand has 0.6 more hours.

Hours of civil night on the 15th of each month, 2026
Month	Stavanger	Kristiansand	Difference
January	15.2 h	15.1 h	+0.1 h
February	13.1 h	13.0 h	+0.1 h
March	10.7 h	10.8 h	-0.1 h
April	7.9 h	8.0 h	-0.1 h
May	4.8 h	5.1 h	-0.3 h
June	2.3 h	2.9 h	-0.6 h
July	3.7 h	4.1 h	-0.4 h
August	6.8 h	6.9 h	-0.1 h
September	9.7 h	9.8 h	-0.1 h
October	12.3 h	12.3 h	+0.0 h
November	14.6 h	14.5 h	+0.1 h
December	15.8 h	15.7 h	+0.1 h

Difference: Stavanger minus Kristiansand. Each figure links to that town's month page.

Season and midnight sun

Stavanger has some civil darkness every night of 2026, and its dark season, 4 or more evening hours of civil night, lasts 309 days. Kristiansand has some civil darkness every night of 2026, and its dark season, 4 or more evening hours of civil night, lasts 318 days.

Distance, cloud and time zones

The two towns are 160 km apart by great circle. In the dark months Kristiansand averages 77% cloud and Stavanger 81%, from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record. Stavanger's best month by civil night times clear sky is October. Kristiansand's best month by civil night times clear sky is November. Time zones: Europe/Oslo and Europe/Oslo.

For tonight, open the live pages for Stavanger and Kristiansand, which carry the live OVATION cell.

Questions

Is Stavanger or Kristiansand better for the northern lights?: Stavanger sits closer to the oval, at 59.6 degrees geomagnetic against 58.4. 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, Stavanger or Kristiansand?: Stavanger, with 15.8 hours of civil night on December 15 against 15.7 in Kristiansand.
What Kp do Stavanger and Kristiansand need?: By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Stavanger needs about Kp 4 and Kristiansand Kp 4 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.
When is it too light for aurora in Stavanger and Kristiansand?: Stavanger: never, every night has civil darkness. Kristiansand: never, every night has civil darkness.
Which is clearer, Stavanger or Kristiansand?: Kristiansand, with 77% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 81% in Stavanger (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.