Is Tromsø or Kiruna better for the northern lights?

Tromsø sits closer to the oval, at 67.5 degrees geomagnetic against 65.7. 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, Tromsø or Kiruna?

Tromsø, with 19.2 hours of civil night on December 15 against 18.3 in Kiruna.

What Kp do Tromsø and Kiruna need?

By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Tromsø needs about Kp 0 and Kiruna Kp 1 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.

When is it too light for aurora in Tromsø and Kiruna?

Tromsø: April 27 to August 14. Kiruna: May 3 to August 8.

Which is clearer, Tromsø or Kiruna?

Kiruna, with 75% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 83% in Tromsø (NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020).

Comparison

Tromsø vs Kiruna for the northern lights

Answer

Tromsø sits 1.8 degrees higher on the IGRF-14 dipole, 67.5 against 65.7. By SWPC's oval-edge rule Tromsø needs about Kp 0 for the average edge to sit overhead and Kiruna Kp 1. On the map Tromsø is also closer to the pole, by 1.8 degrees.

67.5° / 65.7°

dipole latitude

Side by side

Computed figures for both towns
Figure	Tromsø	Kiruna
Dipole latitude	67.5°	65.7°
Kp for the oval edge overhead	Kp 0	Kp 1
Civil night, December 15	19.2 h	18.3 h
Dark-season days	239	248
Nights with no civil darkness	110	98
Dark-month cloud, NASA POWER	83%	75%
Solar midnight, December 15	23:39	23:34

Tromsø sits at 67.5 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 0. Kiruna sits at 65.7 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 1.

Civil night month by month

On December 15 Tromsø has 19.2 hours of civil night and Kiruna 18.3. Across the 15th of each month, Tromsø is darker in 5 months and Kiruna in 4. The widest gap comes in August, when Kiruna has 2.6 more hours.

Hours of civil night on the 15th of each month, 2026
Month	Tromsø	Kiruna	Difference
January	17.8 h	17.1 h	+0.7 h
February	14.0 h	13.8 h	+0.2 h
March	10.2 h	10.3 h	-0.1 h
April	4.8 h	5.7 h	-0.9 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	0.6 h	3.2 h	-2.6 h
September	8.4 h	8.7 h	-0.3 h
October	12.7 h	12.6 h	+0.1 h
November	16.6 h	16.1 h	+0.5 h
December	19.2 h	18.3 h	+0.9 h

Difference: Tromsø minus Kiruna. Each figure links to that town's month page.

Season and midnight sun

Tromsø has no civil darkness from April 27 to August 14, 110 nights in 2026, and its dark season, 4 or more evening hours of civil night, lasts 239 days. Kiruna has no civil darkness from May 3 to August 8, 98 nights in 2026, and its dark season, 4 or more evening hours of civil night, lasts 248 days.

Distance, cloud and time zones

The two towns are 206 km apart by great circle. In the dark months Kiruna averages 75% cloud and Tromsø 83%, from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record. Tromsø's best month by civil night times clear sky is January. Kiruna's best month by civil night times clear sky is January. Time zones: Europe/Oslo and Europe/Stockholm.

For tonight, open the live pages for Tromsø and Kiruna, which carry the live OVATION cell.

Questions

Is Tromsø or Kiruna better for the northern lights?: Tromsø sits closer to the oval, at 67.5 degrees geomagnetic against 65.7. 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, Tromsø or Kiruna?: Tromsø, with 19.2 hours of civil night on December 15 against 18.3 in Kiruna.
What Kp do Tromsø and Kiruna need?: By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Tromsø needs about Kp 0 and Kiruna Kp 1 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.
When is it too light for aurora in Tromsø and Kiruna?: Tromsø: April 27 to August 14. Kiruna: May 3 to August 8.
Which is clearer, Tromsø or Kiruna?: Kiruna, with 75% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 83% in Tromsø (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.