North Ostrobothnia, Finland
Northern lights in Oulu
Answer
Tonight
Waiting on darkness
It is not civil-dark yet. The next dusk is listed below.
Observed 11:49 UTC, forecast 13:20 UTC, 91 min lead
Clock times in Europe/Helsinki
Storm level needed
Oulu sits at 65.01N 25.47E in North Ostrobothnia, Finland. The IGRF-14 centered dipole puts Oulu at 62.3 degrees geomagnetic latitude, 2.8 degrees farther from the magnetic pole than its map latitude suggests. Oulu sits at 62.3 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.
"The best place to observe the aurora is under an oval shaped region between the north and south latitudes of about 60 and 75 degrees. At these polar latitudes, the aurora can be observed more than half of the nights of a given year."
The nearest other Glow towns are Haukipudas (19 km), Raahe (59 km), Kemi (91 km). Haukipudas sits 0.2 degrees higher on the dipole and needs the same Kp.
Approximate: SWPC calls its Kp to latitude rule an average, and a centered dipole can differ by a degree from fuller field models. How the storm level is matched
The year in darkness
From May 13 to July 29 the sun never reaches -6 degrees, so 78 nights in 2026 have no civil darkness at all. SWPC puts it plainly: "It must also be dark so during the summer months at auroral latitudes, the midnight sun prevents auroral observations." Glow's dark season, at least 4 hours of civil night between 18:00 and 06:00, runs from August 10 to May 1 across New Year, 265 days in 2026. Oulu's longest night of the year, Dec 19, has 17 h 18 min of civil night.
Solar midnight at Oulu, when the sun is lowest, falls at 00:13 on local clocks on December 15 and 01:18 on June 15. That is 13 min after midnight in December and 1 h 18 min after midnight in June, the gap set by daylight saving and the equation of time. So at Oulu the darkest hour sits near the middle of SWPC's 10 PM to 2 AM window in winter.
Month by month
| Month | Night | Civil | Cloud | Clear dark | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 16.3 h | 12.2 h | 79% | 3.4 hbest | |
| Feb | 13.5 h | 9.7 h | 77% | 3.1 h | |
| Mar | 10.5 h | 6.3 h | 72% | 2.9 h | |
| Apr | 6.6 h | 0.0 h | 74% | 1.7 h | |
| May | 0.0 h | 0.0 h | 68% | 0.0 h | |
| Jun | 0.0 h | 0.0 h | 67% | 0.0 h | |
| Jul | 0.0 h | 0.0 h | 66% | 0.0 h | |
| Aug | 4.9 h | 0.0 h | 68% | 1.6 h | |
| Sep | 9.1 h | 4.2 h | 73% | 2.5 h | |
| Oct | 12.5 h | 8.6 h | 81% | 2.4 h | |
| Nov | 15.5 h | 11.5 h | 83% | 2.6 h | |
| Dec | 17.3 h | 12.8 h | 81% | 3.3 h |
By the 15th-of-the-month sample, December is the darkest month at Oulu with 17.3 hours of civil night and May the lightest at 0.0. Across the year Oulu gets 3,241 hours of civil night. Astronomical night at Oulu, the sun 18 degrees or more below the horizon, lasts 12.8 hours on December 15.
NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 all-hours climatology puts mean cloud amount for the 1 degree cell around Oulu at 74% across the year, from 66% in July to 83% in November. In the months with at least 4 hours of civil night Oulu averages 76%, against a median of 76% for Glow towns in Finland.
Multiplying civil night by the clear share of the sky gives January the best score, 3.4 hours, ahead of December at 3.3. Oulu's equinox months score 2.9 in March and 2.5 in September, the weeks SWPC links with larger storms.
Kp history
From 1996 to 2025, the GFZ Potsdam record shows a 3-hour Kp of 2 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge over Oulu, on 77% of days. At Oulu's level the share runs from 70% in December to 85% in March, while storm days with Kp 5 or more made up 10%.
Share of UTC days in each calendar month whose highest 3-hour Kp reached Kp 2. Kp history by year
Moon, next 30 nights
Over the 30 nights from Oct 2, the new moon falls on Oct 10 and the full moon on Oct 26, in Europe/Helsinki dates. 15 of the 30 nights at Oulu have at least 2 moon-free dark hours inside 10 PM to 2 AM, and Oct 6 has the most at 4 h. Tonight Oulu has 11 h 3 min of civil night, 0 min of it with the moon down.
- 2
58% lit
0.0 h
- 3
47% lit
0.0 h
- 4
35% lit
2.7 h
- 5
25% lit
5.1 h
- 6
16% lit
7.2 h
- 7
9% lit
9.1 h
- 8
4% lit
10.9 h
- 9
1% lit
11.8 h
- 10
0% lit
11.9 h
- 11
2% lit
12.0 h
- 12
5% lit
12.2 h
- 13
10% lit
12.3 h
- 14
17% lit
12.3 h
- 15
25% lit
12.5 h
- 16
33% lit
12.6 h
- 17
43% lit
12.7 h
- 18
52% lit
10.9 h
- 19
62% lit
8.7 h
- 20
71% lit
6.9 h
- 21
79% lit
5.2 h
- 22
87% lit
3.6 h
- 23
93% lit
1.9 h
- 24
98% lit
0.1 h
- 25
100% lit
0.0 h
- 26
99% lit
0.0 h
- 27
96% lit
0.0 h
- 28
90% lit
0.0 h
- 29
81% lit
0.0 h
- 30
72% lit
0.0 h
- 31
61% lit
1.6 h
Each cell is the night that starts on that date. Hours are civil-dark time with the moon below the horizon; the green rule scales with them. Green outline: new moon. Bone outline: full moon.
Within Finland
Among the 4 Glow towns in North Ostrobothnia, Oulu ranks 2nd by dipole latitude against a regional median of 62.2 degrees; Haukipudas sits highest at 62.4. Among the 65 Glow towns in Finland, Oulu ranks 5th by dipole latitude against a national median of 59.0 degrees; Rovaniemi sits highest at 63.6. On December 15 Oulu gets 17.3 hours of civil night, 4th longest of 65 in Finland, where the median is 16.3.
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Oulu?
- Oulu sits at 62.3 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. Clear, dark sky over Oulu still decides it.
- When is it dark enough in Oulu?
- Civil night, the sun at -6 degrees or lower, is missing from May 13 to Jul 29. Tonight has 11 h 3 min of it.
- What is the best month for aurora in Oulu?
- January, by civil night at Oulu times the clear share of the sky from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 average.
- How cloudy is Oulu in the dark months?
- About 76% mean cloud amount over Oulu in the months with at least 4 hours of civil night, from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 all-hours climatology.
- How often is activity high enough for Oulu?
- A 3-hour Kp of 2 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge overhead, occurred on 77% of days from 1996 to 2025 in the GFZ Potsdam record.
Nearby and related
Nearest Glow towns
Oulu by month
Region and comparisons