United Kingdom · 12 towns
Aurora towns in Wales
Answer
Where the towns sit
The widest gap in the dipole ranking falls between Flint, Wales and Wrexham, 0.2 degrees. 4 neighbouring pairs sit within 0.5 degrees of each other, close enough that the order between them means little.
Of the 5 indexed towns in Wales, 5 sit between 55 and 60 degrees, where G1 (Kp 5) or less usually brings aurora into view.
Ranked by geomagnetic latitude
| Rank | Town | Value |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colwyn Bay | 55.7° |
| 2 | Bangor, Wales | 55.6° |
| 3 | Rhyl | 55.6° |
| 4 | Flint, Wales | 55.5° |
| 5 | Wrexham | 55.3° |
Ranked by December darkness
On December 15 the median town gets 14.9 hours of civil night, against 15.0 nationally. Colwyn Bay has the most at 14.9 hours and Colwyn Bay the least at 14.9. Every town keeps some civil darkness through the June solstice.
| Rank | Town | Value |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colwyn Bay | 14.9 h |
| 2 | Bangor, Wales | 14.9 h |
| 3 | Rhyl | 14.9 h |
| 4 | Flint, Wales | 14.9 h |
| 5 | Wrexham | 14.9 h |
Ranked by clear dark season
NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology puts median cloud amount in the dark months at 77%, against 77% nationally. Colwyn Bay is clearest at 77% and Bangor, Wales cloudiest at 79%. These are all-hours averages for 1 degree cells, not forecasts.
| Rank | Town | Value |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colwyn Bay | 77% |
| 2 | Rhyl | 77% |
| 3 | Flint, Wales | 77% |
| 4 | Wrexham | 77% |
| 5 | Bangor, Wales | 79% |
Multiplying civil night by the clear share of the sky, February comes out best for 4 of the 5 towns and January for 1. SWPC notes a tendency toward larger storms near the equinoxes, which this score does not include.
Every town
| Town | Dipole | Storm needed | Dec 15 night | Dark-month cloud | Best month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Llandudno * | 55.7° | G1 or less | 14.9 h | 77% | Feb |
| Colwyn Bay | 55.7° | G1 or less | 14.9 h | 77% | Feb |
| Bangor, Wales | 55.6° | G1 or less | 14.9 h | 79% | Jan |
| Prestatyn * | 55.6° | G1 or less | 14.9 h | 77% | Feb |
| Rhyl | 55.6° | G1 or less | 14.9 h | 77% | Feb |
| Flint, Wales | 55.5° | G1 or less | 14.9 h | 77% | Feb |
| Deeside * | 55.5° | G1 or less | 14.9 h | 77% | Feb |
| Hawarden * | 55.4° | G1 or less | 14.9 h | 77% | Feb |
| Buckley * | 55.4° | G1 or less | 14.9 h | 77% | Feb |
| Brymbo * | 55.3° | G1 or less | 14.9 h | 77% | Feb |
| Wrexham | 55.3° | G1 or less | 14.9 h | 77% | Feb |
| Rhosllannerchrugog * | 55.3° | G1 or less | 14.9 h | 77% | Feb |
Questions
- Where in Wales is best for the aurora?
- By geomagnetic latitude, Colwyn Bay at 55.7°. No town sits at 60 degrees or more, so every town needs some activity.
- Which town in Wales has the longest December night?
- Colwyn Bay, with 14.9 hours of civil night on December 15.
- Which town in Wales has the clearest dark season?
- Colwyn Bay, with 77% mean cloud amount in the months with at least 4 hours of civil night (NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020).
- What is the best month for aurora in Wales?
- February for 4 of 5 towns, by civil night times the clear share of the sky. Each town page gives its own month.
Sources and verification
- GeoNames dump (CC BY 4.0)https://download.geonames.org/export/dump/
- IGRF-14, NOAA NCEIhttps://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/IAGA/vmod/coeffs/igrf14coeffs.txt
- NASA POWER climatologyhttps://power.larc.nasa.gov/docs/services/api/temporal/climatology/
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.