Is Vaasa or Jakobstad better for the northern lights?

Jakobstad sits closer to the oval, at 61.4 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, Vaasa or Jakobstad?

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

What Kp do Vaasa and Jakobstad need?

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

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

Vaasa: May 22 to July 20. Jakobstad: May 19 to July 23.

Which is clearer, Vaasa or Jakobstad?

Vaasa, with 75% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 77% in Jakobstad (NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020).

Comparison

Vaasa vs Jakobstad for the northern lights

Answer

Jakobstad sits 0.4 degrees higher on the IGRF-14 dipole, 61.4 against 61.0. By SWPC's oval-edge rule Jakobstad needs about Kp 3 for the average edge to sit overhead and Vaasa Kp 3. On the map Jakobstad is also closer to the pole, by 0.6 degrees.

61.0° / 61.4°

dipole latitude

Side by side

Computed figures for both towns
Figure	Vaasa	Jakobstad
Dipole latitude	61.0°	61.4°
Kp for the oval edge overhead	Kp 3	Kp 3
Civil night, December 15	16.7 h	16.9 h
Dark-season days	277	273
Nights with no civil darkness	60	66
Dark-month cloud, NASA POWER	75%	77%
Solar midnight, December 15	00:29	00:24

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. Jakobstad sits at 61.4 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 Vaasa has 16.7 hours of civil night and Jakobstad 16.9. Across the 15th of each month, Vaasa is darker in 4 months and Jakobstad in 3. The widest gap comes in May, when Vaasa has 0.6 more hours.

Hours of civil night on the 15th of each month, 2026
Month	Vaasa	Jakobstad	Difference
January	15.9 h	16.0 h	-0.1 h
February	13.4 h	13.4 h	+0.0 h
March	10.6 h	10.5 h	+0.1 h
April	7.1 h	6.9 h	+0.2 h
May	2.6 h	2.0 h	+0.6 h
June	0.0 h	0.0 h	+0.0 h
July	0.0 h	0.0 h	+0.0 h
August	5.6 h	5.4 h	+0.2 h
September	9.3 h	9.3 h	+0.0 h
October	12.4 h	12.4 h	+0.0 h
November	15.2 h	15.3 h	-0.1 h
December	16.7 h	16.9 h	-0.2 h

Difference: Vaasa minus Jakobstad. Each figure links to that town's month page.

Season and midnight sun

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. Jakobstad has no civil darkness from May 19 to July 23, 66 nights in 2026, and its dark season, 4 or more evening hours of civil night, lasts 273 days.

Distance, cloud and time zones

The two towns are 84 km apart by great circle. In the dark months both average about 76% cloud in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record. Vaasa's best month by civil night times clear sky is December. Jakobstad's best month by civil night times clear sky is March. Time zones: Europe/Helsinki and Europe/Helsinki.

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

Questions

Is Vaasa or Jakobstad better for the northern lights?: Jakobstad sits closer to the oval, at 61.4 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, Vaasa or Jakobstad?: Jakobstad, with 16.9 hours of civil night on December 15 against 16.7 in Vaasa.
What Kp do Vaasa and Jakobstad need?: By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Vaasa needs about Kp 3 and Jakobstad Kp 3 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.
When is it too light for aurora in Vaasa and Jakobstad?: Vaasa: May 22 to July 20. Jakobstad: May 19 to July 23.
Which is clearer, Vaasa or Jakobstad?: Vaasa, with 75% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 77% in Jakobstad (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.