Is Umeå or Skellefteå better for the northern lights?

Skellefteå sits closer to the oval, at 62.7 degrees geomagnetic against 61.9. 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, Umeå or Skellefteå?

Skellefteå, with 17.2 hours of civil night on December 15 against 16.9 in Umeå.

What Kp do Umeå and Skellefteå need?

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

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

Umeå: May 18 to July 24. Skellefteå: May 14 to July 28.

Which is clearer, Umeå or Skellefteå?

Skellefteå, with 72% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 75% in Umeå (NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020).

Comparison

Umeå vs Skellefteå for the northern lights

Answer

Skellefteå sits 0.8 degrees higher on the IGRF-14 dipole, 62.7 against 61.9. By SWPC's oval-edge rule Skellefteå needs about Kp 2 for the average edge to sit overhead and Umeå Kp 3. On the map Skellefteå is also closer to the pole, by 0.9 degrees.

61.9° / 62.7°

dipole latitude

Side by side

Computed figures for both towns
Figure	Umeå	Skellefteå
Dipole latitude	61.9°	62.7°
Kp for the oval edge overhead	Kp 3	Kp 2
Civil night, December 15	16.9 h	17.2 h
Dark-season days	271	265
Nights with no civil darkness	68	76
Dark-month cloud, NASA POWER	75%	72%
Solar midnight, December 15	23:34	23:31

Umeå sits at 61.9 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. 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.

Civil night month by month

On December 15 Umeå has 16.9 hours of civil night and Skellefteå 17.2. Across the 15th of each month, Umeå is darker in 4 months and Skellefteå in 5. The widest gap comes in May, when Umeå has 1.8 more hours.

Hours of civil night on the 15th of each month, 2026
Month	Umeå	Skellefteå	Difference
January	16.1 h	16.3 h	-0.2 h
February	13.4 h	13.5 h	-0.1 h
March	10.5 h	10.5 h	+0.0 h
April	6.9 h	6.7 h	+0.2 h
May	1.8 h	0.0 h	+1.8 h
June	0.0 h	0.0 h	+0.0 h
July	0.0 h	0.0 h	+0.0 h
August	5.4 h	5.0 h	+0.4 h
September	9.2 h	9.1 h	+0.1 h
October	12.4 h	12.5 h	-0.1 h
November	15.3 h	15.5 h	-0.2 h
December	16.9 h	17.2 h	-0.3 h

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

Season and midnight sun

Umeå has no civil darkness from May 18 to July 24, 68 nights in 2026, and its dark season, 4 or more evening hours of civil night, lasts 271 days. 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.

Distance, cloud and time zones

The two towns are 108 km apart by great circle. In the dark months Skellefteå averages 72% cloud and Umeå 75%, from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record. Umeå's best month by civil night times clear sky is December. Skellefteå'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 Umeå and Skellefteå, which carry the live OVATION cell.

Questions

Is Umeå or Skellefteå better for the northern lights?: Skellefteå sits closer to the oval, at 62.7 degrees geomagnetic against 61.9. 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, Umeå or Skellefteå?: Skellefteå, with 17.2 hours of civil night on December 15 against 16.9 in Umeå.
What Kp do Umeå and Skellefteå need?: By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Umeå needs about Kp 3 and Skellefteå Kp 2 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.
When is it too light for aurora in Umeå and Skellefteå?: Umeå: May 18 to July 24. Skellefteå: May 14 to July 28.
Which is clearer, Umeå or Skellefteå?: Skellefteå, with 72% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 75% in Umeå (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.