Is Stockholm or Uppsala better for the northern lights?

Uppsala sits closer to the oval, at 58.5 degrees geomagnetic against 58.0. 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, Stockholm or Uppsala?

Uppsala, with 16.0 hours of civil night on December 15 against 15.9 in Stockholm.

What Kp do Stockholm and Uppsala need?

By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Stockholm needs about Kp 5 and Uppsala Kp 4 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.

When is it too light for aurora in Stockholm and Uppsala?

Stockholm: never, every night has civil darkness. Uppsala: never, every night has civil darkness.

Which is clearer, Stockholm or Uppsala?

Uppsala, with 77% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 78% in Stockholm (NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020).

Comparison

Stockholm vs Uppsala for the northern lights

Answer

Uppsala sits 0.6 degrees higher on the IGRF-14 dipole, 58.5 against 58.0. By SWPC's oval-edge rule Uppsala needs about Kp 4 for the average edge to sit overhead and Stockholm Kp 5. On the map Uppsala is also closer to the pole, by 0.5 degrees.

58.0° / 58.5°

dipole latitude

Side by side

Computed figures for both towns
Figure	Stockholm	Uppsala
Dipole latitude	58.0°	58.5°
Kp for the oval edge overhead	Kp 5	Kp 4
Civil night, December 15	15.9 h	16.0 h
Dark-season days	305	301
Nights with no civil darkness	0	0
Dark-month cloud, NASA POWER	78%	77%
Solar midnight, December 15	23:43	23:45

Stockholm sits at 58.0 degrees geomagnetic. By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 5, and aurora is usually visible on the northern horizon at G1 (Kp 5) or less. Uppsala sits at 58.5 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 Stockholm has 15.9 hours of civil night and Uppsala 16.0. Across the 15th of each month, Stockholm is darker in 6 months and Uppsala in 3. The widest gap comes in June, when Stockholm has 0.7 more hours.

Hours of civil night on the 15th of each month, 2026
Month	Stockholm	Uppsala	Difference
January	15.2 h	15.3 h	-0.1 h
February	13.1 h	13.1 h	+0.0 h
March	10.7 h	10.7 h	+0.0 h
April	7.8 h	7.7 h	+0.1 h
May	4.7 h	4.5 h	+0.2 h
June	1.9 h	1.2 h	+0.7 h
July	3.5 h	3.2 h	+0.3 h
August	6.7 h	6.6 h	+0.1 h
September	9.7 h	9.6 h	+0.1 h
October	12.3 h	12.3 h	+0.0 h
November	14.6 h	14.7 h	-0.1 h
December	15.9 h	16.0 h	-0.1 h

Difference: Stockholm minus Uppsala. Each figure links to that town's month page.

Season and midnight sun

Stockholm has some civil darkness every night of 2026, and its dark season, 4 or more evening hours of civil night, lasts 305 days. Uppsala has some civil darkness every night of 2026, and its dark season, 4 or more evening hours of civil night, lasts 301 days.

Distance, cloud and time zones

The two towns are 64 km apart by great circle. In the dark months both average about 77% cloud in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record. Stockholm's best month by civil night times clear sky is September. Uppsala's best month by civil night times clear sky is November. Time zones: Europe/Stockholm and Europe/Stockholm.

For tonight, open the live pages for Stockholm and Uppsala, which carry the live OVATION cell.

Questions

Is Stockholm or Uppsala better for the northern lights?: Uppsala sits closer to the oval, at 58.5 degrees geomagnetic against 58.0. 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, Stockholm or Uppsala?: Uppsala, with 16.0 hours of civil night on December 15 against 15.9 in Stockholm.
What Kp do Stockholm and Uppsala need?: By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Stockholm needs about Kp 5 and Uppsala Kp 4 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.
When is it too light for aurora in Stockholm and Uppsala?: Stockholm: never, every night has civil darkness. Uppsala: never, every night has civil darkness.
Which is clearer, Stockholm or Uppsala?: Uppsala, with 77% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 78% in Stockholm (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.