Is Umeå or Vaasa better for the northern lights?

Umeå sits closer to the oval, at 61.9 degrees geomagnetic against 61.0. 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, Umeå or Vaasa?

Umeå, with 16.9 hours of civil night on December 15 against 16.7 in Vaasa.

What Kp do Umeå and Vaasa need?

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

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

Umeå: May 18 to July 24. Vaasa: May 22 to July 20.

Which is clearer, Umeå or Vaasa?

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

Comparison

Umeå vs Vaasa for the northern lights

Answer

Umeå sits 0.9 degrees higher on the IGRF-14 dipole, 61.9 against 61.0. By SWPC's oval-edge rule Umeå needs about Kp 3 for the average edge to sit overhead and Vaasa Kp 3. On the map Umeå is also closer to the pole, by 0.7 degrees.

61.9° / 61.0°

dipole latitude

Side by side

Computed figures for both towns
Figure	Umeå	Vaasa
Dipole latitude	61.9°	61.0°
Kp for the oval edge overhead	Kp 3	Kp 3
Civil night, December 15	16.9 h	16.7 h
Dark-season days	271	277
Nights with no civil darkness	68	60
Dark-month cloud, NASA POWER	75%	75%
Solar midnight, December 15	23:34	00:29

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. Vaasa sits at 61.0 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.

Civil night month by month

On December 15 Umeå has 16.9 hours of civil night and Vaasa 16.7. Across the 15th of each month, Umeå is darker in 3 months and Vaasa in 5. The widest gap comes in May, when Vaasa has 0.8 more hours.

Hours of civil night on the 15th of each month, 2026
Month	Umeå	Vaasa	Difference
January	16.1 h	15.9 h	+0.2 h
February	13.4 h	13.4 h	+0.0 h
March	10.5 h	10.6 h	-0.1 h
April	6.9 h	7.1 h	-0.2 h
May	1.8 h	2.6 h	-0.8 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	5.6 h	-0.2 h
September	9.2 h	9.3 h	-0.1 h
October	12.4 h	12.4 h	+0.0 h
November	15.3 h	15.2 h	+0.1 h
December	16.9 h	16.7 h	+0.2 h

Difference: Umeå minus Vaasa. 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. Vaasa has no civil darkness from May 22 to July 20, 60 nights in 2026, and its dark season, 4 or more evening hours of civil night, lasts 277 days.

Distance, cloud and time zones

The two towns are 106 km apart by great circle. In the dark months both average about 75% cloud in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record. Umeå's best month by civil night times clear sky is December. Vaasa's best month by civil night times clear sky is December. Time zones: Europe/Stockholm and Europe/Helsinki.

For tonight, open the live pages for Umeå and Vaasa, which carry the live OVATION cell.

Questions

Is Umeå or Vaasa better for the northern lights?: Umeå sits closer to the oval, at 61.9 degrees geomagnetic against 61.0. 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, Umeå or Vaasa?: Umeå, with 16.9 hours of civil night on December 15 against 16.7 in Vaasa.
What Kp do Umeå and Vaasa need?: By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Umeå needs about Kp 3 and Vaasa Kp 3 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.
When is it too light for aurora in Umeå and Vaasa?: Umeå: May 18 to July 24. Vaasa: May 22 to July 20.
Which is clearer, Umeå or Vaasa?: Umeå, with 75% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 75% in Vaasa (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.