Leinster, Ireland
Northern lights in Portlaoise
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/Dublin
Storm level needed
Portlaoise sits at 53.03N 7.30W in Leinster, Ireland. The IGRF-14 centered dipole puts Portlaoise at 56.0 degrees geomagnetic latitude, 2.9 degrees closer to the magnetic pole than its map latitude suggests. Portlaoise sits at 56.0 degrees geomagnetic. By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 6, and aurora is usually visible on the northern horizon at G1 (Kp 5) or less.
"aurora is commonly visible at high latitudes (northern Michigan and Maine)"
The nearest other Glow towns are Tullamore (29 km), Carlow (33 km), Droichead Nua (37 km). Tullamore sits 0.3 degrees higher on the dipole, Kp 5 against 6 here.
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
Every night of 2026 at Portlaoise has some civil darkness; the shortest month sample still has 5.2 hours. Every evening of the year at Portlaoise clears Glow's dark-season bar of 4 hours of civil night between 18:00 and 06:00. Portlaoise's longest night of the year, Dec 19, has 14 h 55 min of civil night.
Solar midnight at Portlaoise, when the sun is lowest, falls at 00:24 on local clocks on December 15 and 01:29 on June 15. That is 24 min after midnight in December and 1 h 29 min after midnight in June, the gap set by daylight saving and the equation of time. So at Portlaoise 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 | 14.4 h | 11.6 h | 78% | 3.2 h | |
| Feb | 12.8 h | 10.1 h | 76% | 3.1 h | |
| Mar | 10.9 h | 8.1 h | 74% | 2.8 h | |
| Apr | 8.6 h | 5.3 h | 73% | 2.3 h | |
| May | 6.5 h | 0.0 h | 73% | 1.8 h | |
| Jun | 5.2 h | 0.0 h | 76% | 1.2 h | |
| Jul | 5.8 h | 0.0 h | 78% | 1.3 h | |
| Aug | 7.8 h | 4.0 h | 78% | 1.7 h | |
| Sep | 10.1 h | 7.2 h | 74% | 2.6 h | |
| Oct | 12.1 h | 9.4 h | 74% | 3.1 h | |
| Nov | 13.9 h | 11.2 h | 73% | 3.8 hbest | |
| Dec | 14.9 h | 12.0 h | 76% | 3.6 h |
By the 15th-of-the-month sample, December is the darkest month at Portlaoise with 14.9 hours of civil night and June the lightest at 5.2. Across the year Portlaoise gets 3,740 hours of civil night. Astronomical night at Portlaoise, the sun 18 degrees or more below the horizon, lasts 12.0 hours on December 15.
NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 all-hours climatology puts mean cloud amount for the 1 degree cell around Portlaoise at 75% across the year, from 73% in April to 78% in January. In the months with at least 4 hours of civil night Portlaoise averages 75%, against a median of 75% for Glow towns in Ireland.
Multiplying civil night by the clear share of the sky gives November the best score, 3.8 hours, ahead of December at 3.6. Portlaoise's equinox months score 2.8 in March and 2.6 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 6 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge over Portlaoise, on 3% of days. At Portlaoise's level the share runs from 1% in December to 5% in October, 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 6. 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/Dublin dates. 15 of the 30 nights at Portlaoise have at least 2 moon-free dark hours inside 10 PM to 2 AM, and Oct 5 has the most at 4 h. Tonight Portlaoise has 11 h 15 min of civil night, 2 h 11 min of it with the moon down.
- 2
57% lit
2.2 h
- 3
46% lit
3.5 h
- 4
34% lit
5.0 h
- 5
24% lit
6.5 h
- 6
15% lit
8.1 h
- 7
8% lit
9.5 h
- 8
3% lit
10.9 h
- 9
1% lit
11.7 h
- 10
0% lit
11.8 h
- 11
2% lit
11.8 h
- 12
6% lit
11.9 h
- 13
11% lit
12.0 h
- 14
18% lit
11.8 h
- 15
26% lit
11.2 h
- 16
34% lit
10.3 h
- 17
43% lit
9.2 h
- 18
53% lit
8.0 h
- 19
62% lit
6.8 h
- 20
72% lit
5.5 h
- 21
80% lit
4.3 h
- 22
88% lit
3.0 h
- 23
94% lit
1.6 h
- 24
98% lit
0.2 h
- 25
100% lit
0.0 h
- 26
99% lit
0.0 h
- 27
95% lit
0.0 h
- 28
89% lit
0.1 h
- 29
81% lit
1.0 h
- 30
71% lit
2.3 h
- 31
60% lit
3.8 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 Ireland
Among the 15 Glow towns in Leinster, Portlaoise ranks 11th by dipole latitude against a regional median of 56.1 degrees; Dundalk sits highest at 56.8. Among the 24 Glow towns in Ireland, Portlaoise ranks 15th by dipole latitude against a national median of 56.1 degrees; Letterkenny sits highest at 57.9. On December 15 Portlaoise gets 14.9 hours of civil night, 8th longest of 24 in Ireland, where the median is 14.9.
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Portlaoise?
- Portlaoise sits at 56.0 degrees geomagnetic. By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 6, and aurora is usually visible on the northern horizon at G1 (Kp 5) or less. Clear, dark sky over Portlaoise still decides it.
- When is it dark enough in Portlaoise?
- Every night at Portlaoise has civil darkness. Tonight has 11 h 15 min, and December 15 has 14.9 hours.
- What is the best month for aurora in Portlaoise?
- November, by civil night at Portlaoise times the clear share of the sky from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 average.
- How cloudy is Portlaoise in the dark months?
- About 75% mean cloud amount over Portlaoise 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 Portlaoise?
- A 3-hour Kp of 6 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge overhead, occurred on 3% of days from 1996 to 2025 in the GFZ Potsdam record.
Nearby and related
Nearest Glow towns
Portlaoise by month
Region and comparisons