England, United Kingdom
Northern lights in Preston
Answer
Tonight
Waiting on darkness
It is not civil-dark yet. The next dusk is listed below.
Observed 11:55 UTC, forecast 13:26 UTC, 91 min lead
Clock times in Europe/London
Storm level needed
Preston sits at 53.76N 2.70W in England, United Kingdom. The IGRF-14 centered dipole puts Preston at 55.9 degrees geomagnetic latitude, 2.2 degrees closer to the magnetic pole than its map latitude suggests. Preston sits at 55.9 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 Darwen (17 km), Blackpool (23 km), Southport (24 km). Darwen sits 0.1 degrees lower 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
Every night of 2026 at Preston has some civil darkness; the shortest month sample still has 5.0 hours. Every evening of the year at Preston clears Glow's dark-season bar of 4 hours of civil night between 18:00 and 06:00. Preston's longest night of the year, Dec 19, has 15 h 1 min of civil night.
Solar midnight at Preston, when the sun is lowest, falls at 00:06 on local clocks on December 15 and 01:11 on June 15. That is 6 min after midnight in December and 1 h 11 min after midnight in June, the gap set by daylight saving and the equation of time. So at Preston 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 | 14.5 h | 11.6 h | 82% | 2.6 h | |
| Feb | 12.8 h | 10.1 h | 79% | 2.7 h | |
| Mar | 10.9 h | 8.1 h | 76% | 2.6 h | |
| Apr | 8.6 h | 5.1 h | 73% | 2.3 h | |
| May | 6.3 h | 0.0 h | 72% | 1.8 h | |
| Jun | 5.0 h | 0.0 h | 75% | 1.3 h | |
| Jul | 5.6 h | 0.0 h | 75% | 1.4 h | |
| Aug | 7.7 h | 3.7 h | 77% | 1.8 h | |
| Sep | 10.0 h | 7.1 h | 75% | 2.5 h | |
| Oct | 12.1 h | 9.4 h | 78% | 2.7 h | |
| Nov | 14.0 h | 11.2 h | 81% | 2.7 h | |
| Dec | 15.0 h | 12.0 h | 82% | 2.7 hbest |
By the 15th-of-the-month sample, December is the darkest month at Preston with 15.0 hours of civil night and June the lightest at 5.0. Across the year Preston gets 3,724 hours of civil night. Astronomical night at Preston, 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 Preston at 77% across the year, from 72% in May to 82% in January. In the months with at least 4 hours of civil night Preston averages 77%, against a median of 77% for Glow towns in United Kingdom.
Multiplying civil night by the clear share of the sky gives December the best score, 2.7 hours, ahead of February at 2.7. Preston's equinox months score 2.6 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 6 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge over Preston, on 3% of days. At Preston'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/London dates. 15 of the 30 nights at Preston have at least 2 moon-free dark hours inside 10 PM to 2 AM, and Oct 6 has the most at 4 h. Tonight Preston has 11 h 14 min of civil night, 2 h 4 min of it with the moon down.
- 2
57% lit
2.1 h
- 3
46% lit
3.4 h
- 4
34% lit
4.9 h
- 5
24% lit
6.5 h
- 6
15% lit
8.0 h
- 7
8% lit
9.4 h
- 8
3% lit
10.9 h
- 9
1% lit
11.7 h
- 10
0% lit
11.8 h
- 11
2% lit
11.9 h
- 12
6% lit
11.9 h
- 13
11% lit
12.0 h
- 14
18% lit
11.9 h
- 15
26% lit
11.3 h
- 16
34% lit
10.4 h
- 17
43% lit
9.3 h
- 18
53% lit
8.1 h
- 19
62% lit
6.9 h
- 20
72% lit
5.6 h
- 21
80% lit
4.3 h
- 22
88% lit
3.0 h
- 23
94% lit
1.6 h
- 24
98% lit
0.3 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
0.9 h
- 30
71% lit
2.2 h
- 31
60% lit
3.7 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 United Kingdom
Among the 62 Glow towns in England, Preston ranks 21st by dipole latitude against a regional median of 55.7 degrees; Carlisle sits highest at 57.1. Among the 105 Glow towns in United Kingdom, Preston ranks 59th by dipole latitude against a national median of 56.3 degrees; Isle of Lewis sits highest at 60.8. On December 15 Preston gets 15.0 hours of civil night, 52nd longest of 105 in United Kingdom, where the median is 15.0.
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Preston?
- Preston sits at 55.9 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 Preston still decides it.
- When is it dark enough in Preston?
- Every night at Preston has civil darkness. Tonight has 11 h 14 min, and December 15 has 15.0 hours.
- What is the best month for aurora in Preston?
- December, by civil night at Preston times the clear share of the sky from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 average.
- How cloudy is Preston in the dark months?
- About 77% mean cloud amount over Preston 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 Preston?
- 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
Preston by month
Region and comparisons