Norrbotten, Sweden
Northern lights in Piteå
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/Stockholm
Storm level needed
Piteå sits at 65.32N 21.48E in Norrbotten, Sweden. The IGRF-14 centered dipole puts Piteå at 63.1 degrees geomagnetic latitude, 2.2 degrees farther from the magnetic pole than its map latitude suggests. Piteå sits at 63.1 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 Luleå (43 km), Boden (57 km), Skellefteå (68 km). Luleå 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 12 to July 30 the sun never reaches -6 degrees, so 80 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 11 to April 30 across New Year, 263 days in 2026. Piteå's longest night of the year, Dec 19, has 17 h 24 min of civil night.
Solar midnight at Piteå, when the sun is lowest, falls at 23:29 on local clocks on December 15 and 00:34 on June 15. That is 31 min before midnight in December and 34 min after midnight in June, the gap set by daylight saving and the equation of time. So at Piteå 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 | 16.4 h | 12.2 h | 76% | 3.9 h | |
| Feb | 13.6 h | 9.7 h | 72% | 3.8 h | |
| Mar | 10.4 h | 6.2 h | 68% | 3.4 h | |
| Apr | 6.5 h | 0.0 h | 68% | 2.1 h | |
| May | 0.0 h | 0.0 h | 69% | 0.0 h | |
| Jun | 0.0 h | 0.0 h | 69% | 0.0 h | |
| Jul | 0.0 h | 0.0 h | 66% | 0.0 h | |
| Aug | 4.8 h | 0.0 h | 68% | 1.5 h | |
| Sep | 9.1 h | 4.0 h | 69% | 2.8 h | |
| Oct | 12.5 h | 8.6 h | 74% | 3.3 h | |
| Nov | 15.6 h | 11.5 h | 74% | 4.1 h | |
| Dec | 17.3 h | 12.8 h | 75% | 4.3 hbest |
By the 15th-of-the-month sample, December is the darkest month at Piteå with 17.3 hours of civil night and May the lightest at 0.0. Across the year Piteå gets 3,234 hours of civil night. Astronomical night at Piteå, 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 Piteå at 71% across the year, from 66% in July to 76% in January. In the months with at least 4 hours of civil night Piteå averages 72%, against a median of 75% for Glow towns in Sweden.
Multiplying civil night by the clear share of the sky gives December the best score, 4.3 hours, ahead of November at 4.1. Piteå's equinox months score 3.4 in March and 2.8 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 Piteå, on 77% of days. At Piteå'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/Stockholm dates. 15 of the 30 nights at Piteå have at least 2 moon-free dark hours inside 10 PM to 2 AM, and Oct 7 has the most at 4 h. Tonight Piteå has 11 h 3 min of civil night, 0 min of it with the moon down.
- 2
57% lit
0.0 h
- 3
46% lit
0.0 h
- 4
35% lit
2.6 h
- 5
25% lit
5.0 h
- 6
16% lit
7.2 h
- 7
8% lit
9.1 h
- 8
3% lit
10.9 h
- 9
1% lit
11.8 h
- 10
0% lit
11.9 h
- 11
2% lit
12.1 h
- 12
5% lit
12.2 h
- 13
11% lit
12.3 h
- 14
17% lit
12.4 h
- 15
25% lit
12.5 h
- 16
34% lit
12.6 h
- 17
43% lit
12.7 h
- 18
52% lit
11.2 h
- 19
62% lit
8.8 h
- 20
71% lit
6.9 h
- 21
80% lit
5.2 h
- 22
87% lit
3.6 h
- 23
94% lit
1.9 h
- 24
98% lit
0.1 h
- 25
100% lit
0.0 h
- 26
99% lit
0.0 h
- 27
95% lit
0.0 h
- 28
89% lit
0.0 h
- 29
81% lit
0.0 h
- 30
71% lit
0.0 h
- 31
60% lit
1.5 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 Sweden
Among the 4 Glow towns in Norrbotten, Piteå ranks 4th by dipole latitude against a regional median of 63.4 degrees; Kiruna sits highest at 65.7. Among the 74 Glow towns in Sweden, Piteå ranks 4th by dipole latitude against a national median of 57.9 degrees; Kiruna sits highest at 65.7. On December 15 Piteå gets 17.3 hours of civil night, 4th longest of 74 in Sweden, where the median is 15.8.
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Piteå?
- Piteå sits at 63.1 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 Piteå still decides it.
- When is it dark enough in Piteå?
- Civil night, the sun at -6 degrees or lower, is missing from May 12 to Jul 30. Tonight has 11 h 3 min of it.
- What is the best month for aurora in Piteå?
- December, by civil night at Piteå times the clear share of the sky from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 average.
- How cloudy is Piteå in the dark months?
- About 72% mean cloud amount over Piteå 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 Piteå?
- 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
Piteå by month
Region and comparisons