Lapland, Finland
Northern lights in Rovaniemi
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/Helsinki
Storm level needed
Rovaniemi sits at 66.50N 25.69E in Lapland, Finland. The IGRF-14 centered dipole puts Rovaniemi at 63.6 degrees geomagnetic latitude, 2.9 degrees farther from the magnetic pole than its map latitude suggests. Rovaniemi sits at 63.6 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 Kemi (99 km), Tornio (100 km), Haukipudas (148 km). Kemi sits 0.6 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
From May 8 to August 4 the sun never reaches -6 degrees, so 89 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 15 to April 26 across New Year, 255 days in 2026. Rovaniemi's longest night of the year, Dec 21, has 17 h 49 min of civil night.
Solar midnight at Rovaniemi, when the sun is lowest, falls at 00:12 on local clocks on December 15 and 01:17 on June 15. That is 12 min after midnight in December and 1 h 17 min after midnight in June, the gap set by daylight saving and the equation of time. So at Rovaniemi 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 | 16.7 h | 12.2 h | 78% | 3.7 hbest | |
| Feb | 13.7 h | 9.6 h | 76% | 3.3 h | |
| Mar | 10.4 h | 5.8 h | 69% | 3.2 h | |
| Apr | 6.1 h | 0.0 h | 70% | 1.8 h | |
| May | 0.0 h | 0.0 h | 71% | 0.0 h | |
| Jun | 0.0 h | 0.0 h | 71% | 0.0 h | |
| Jul | 0.0 h | 0.0 h | 69% | 0.0 h | |
| Aug | 4.1 h | 0.0 h | 70% | 1.2 h | |
| Sep | 8.9 h | 3.3 h | 75% | 2.2 h | |
| Oct | 12.5 h | 8.4 h | 81% | 2.4 h | |
| Nov | 15.8 h | 11.5 h | 81% | 3.0 h | |
| Dec | 17.7 h | 13.0 h | 81% | 3.4 h |
By the 15th-of-the-month sample, December is the darkest month at Rovaniemi with 17.7 hours of civil night and May the lightest at 0.0. Across the year Rovaniemi gets 3,208 hours of civil night. Astronomical night at Rovaniemi, the sun 18 degrees or more below the horizon, lasts 13.0 hours on December 15.
NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 all-hours climatology puts mean cloud amount for the 1 degree cell around Rovaniemi at 74% across the year, from 69% in March to 81% in October. In the months with at least 4 hours of civil night Rovaniemi 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, 3.7 hours, ahead of December at 3.4. Rovaniemi's equinox months score 3.2 in March and 2.2 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 Rovaniemi, on 77% of days. At Rovaniemi'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 Rovaniemi have at least 2 moon-free dark hours inside 10 PM to 2 AM, and Oct 6 has the most at 4 h. Tonight Rovaniemi has 11 h 1 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
1.7 h
- 5
25% lit
4.8 h
- 6
16% lit
7.0 h
- 7
9% lit
9.0 h
- 8
4% 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
10% lit
12.3 h
- 14
17% lit
12.4 h
- 15
25% lit
12.5 h
- 16
33% lit
12.6 h
- 17
43% lit
12.8 h
- 18
52% lit
12.9 h
- 19
62% lit
9.2 h
- 20
71% lit
7.2 h
- 21
79% lit
5.4 h
- 22
87% lit
3.6 h
- 23
93% lit
1.9 h
- 24
98% lit
0.0 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
0.0 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 3 Glow towns in Lapland, Rovaniemi ranks 1st by dipole latitude against a regional median of 63.2 degrees, the highest of them. Among the 65 Glow towns in Finland, Rovaniemi ranks 1st by dipole latitude against a national median of 59.0 degrees, the highest of them. On December 15 Rovaniemi gets 17.7 hours of civil night, 1st longest of 65 in Finland, where the median is 16.3.
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Rovaniemi?
- Rovaniemi sits at 63.6 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 Rovaniemi still decides it.
- When is it dark enough in Rovaniemi?
- Civil night, the sun at -6 degrees or lower, is missing from May 8 to Aug 4. Tonight has 11 h 1 min of it.
- What is the best month for aurora in Rovaniemi?
- January, by civil night at Rovaniemi times the clear share of the sky from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 average.
- How cloudy is Rovaniemi in the dark months?
- About 76% mean cloud amount over Rovaniemi 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 Rovaniemi?
- 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
Rovaniemi by month
Region and comparisons