United States · 20 towns
Aurora towns in Connecticut
Answer
Where the towns sit
The widest gap in the dipole ranking falls between Meriden and Danbury, 0.1 degrees. 7 neighbouring pairs sit within 0.5 degrees of each other, close enough that the order between them means little.
Of the 8 indexed towns in Connecticut, 8 sit below 55 degrees and need a G2 or stronger storm by NOAA's typical latitudes.
Ranked by December darkness
On December 15 the median town gets 13.7 hours of civil night, against 13.8 nationally. Hartford has the most at 13.7 hours and Stamford the least at 13.6. Every town keeps some civil darkness through the June solstice.
Ranked by clear dark season
NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology puts median cloud amount in the dark months at 59%, against 61% nationally. Hartford is clearest at 58% and Stamford cloudiest at 60%. These are all-hours averages for 1 degree cells, not forecasts.
Multiplying civil night by the clear share of the sky, November comes out best for 8 of the 8 towns. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Hartford * | 51.0° | G2 or more | 13.7 h | 58% | Nov |
| Hartford | 51.0° | G2 or more | 13.7 h | 58% | Nov |
| West Hartford * | 51.0° | G2 or more | 13.7 h | 58% | Nov |
| Bristol | 50.9° | G2 or more | 13.7 h | 58% | Nov |
| New Britain * | 50.9° | G2 or more | 13.7 h | 58% | Nov |
| Waterbury | 50.8° | G2 or more | 13.7 h | 60% | Nov |
| Meriden | 50.7° | G2 or more | 13.7 h | 58% | Nov |
| Hamden * | 50.6° | G2 or more | 13.7 h | 58% | Nov |
| Danbury | 50.6° | G2 or more | 13.7 h | 60% | Nov |
| New Haven | 50.5° | G2 or more | 13.7 h | 58% | Nov |
| West Haven * | 50.5° | G2 or more | 13.7 h | 58% | Nov |
| City of Milford (balance) * | 50.4° | G2 or more | 13.7 h | 60% | Nov |
| Milford * | 50.4° | G2 or more | 13.7 h | 60% | Nov |
| Stratford * | 50.4° | G2 or more | 13.7 h | 60% | Nov |
| Bridgeport | 50.4° | G2 or more | 13.7 h | 60% | Nov |
| Fairfield * | 50.4° | G2 or more | 13.7 h | 60% | Nov |
| North Stamford * | 50.3° | G2 or more | 13.7 h | 60% | Nov |
| Norwalk * | 50.3° | G2 or more | 13.7 h | 60% | Nov |
| East Norwalk * | 50.3° | G2 or more | 13.7 h | 60% | Nov |
| Stamford | 50.3° | G2 or more | 13.6 h | 60% | Nov |
Questions
- Where in Connecticut is best for the aurora?
- By geomagnetic latitude, Hartford at 51.0°. No town sits at 60 degrees or more, so every town needs some activity.
- Which town in Connecticut has the longest December night?
- Hartford, with 13.7 hours of civil night on December 15.
- Which town in Connecticut has the clearest dark season?
- Hartford, with 58% 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 Connecticut?
- November for 8 of 8 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.