Vestfold, Norway
Northern lights in Sandefjord
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/Oslo
Storm level needed
Sandefjord sits at 59.13N 10.22E in Vestfold, Norway. The IGRF-14 centered dipole puts Sandefjord at 59.0 degrees geomagnetic latitude, 0.1 degrees farther from the magnetic pole than its map latitude suggests. Sandefjord sits at 59.0 degrees geomagnetic. By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 4, 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 Tønsberg (19 km), Skien (36 km), Fredrikstad (42 km). Tønsberg sits 0.1 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
Every night of 2026 at Sandefjord has some civil darkness; the shortest month sample still has 2.1 hours. Glow's dark season, at least 4 hours of civil night between 18:00 and 06:00, runs from July 20 to May 22 across New Year, 307 days in 2026. Sandefjord's longest night of the year, Dec 20, has 15 h 53 min of civil night.
Solar midnight at Sandefjord, when the sun is lowest, falls at 00:14 on local clocks on December 15 and 01:19 on June 15. That is 14 min after midnight in December and 1 h 19 min after midnight in June, the gap set by daylight saving and the equation of time. So at Sandefjord 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 | 15.2 h | 11.8 h | 83% | 2.6 h | |
| Feb | 13.1 h | 9.9 h | 82% | 2.4 h | |
| Mar | 10.7 h | 7.4 h | 74% | 2.8 h | |
| Apr | 7.8 h | 3.0 h | 70% | 2.3 h | |
| May | 4.8 h | 0.0 h | 68% | 1.5 h | |
| Jun | 2.1 h | 0.0 h | 68% | 0.7 h | |
| Jul | 3.6 h | 0.0 h | 71% | 1.0 h | |
| Aug | 6.7 h | 0.0 h | 71% | 1.9 h | |
| Sep | 9.7 h | 6.1 h | 73% | 2.6 h | |
| Oct | 12.3 h | 9.1 h | 77% | 2.8 h | |
| Nov | 14.6 h | 11.3 h | 82% | 2.6 h | |
| Dec | 15.8 h | 12.4 h | 82% | 2.8 hbest |
By the 15th-of-the-month sample, December is the darkest month at Sandefjord with 15.8 hours of civil night and June the lightest at 2.1. Across the year Sandefjord gets 3,538 hours of civil night. Astronomical night at Sandefjord, the sun 18 degrees or more below the horizon, lasts 12.4 hours on December 15.
NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 all-hours climatology puts mean cloud amount for the 1 degree cell around Sandefjord at 75% across the year, from 68% in May to 83% in January. In the months with at least 4 hours of civil night Sandefjord averages 76%, against a median of 77% for Glow towns in Norway.
Multiplying civil night by the clear share of the sky gives December the best score, 2.8 hours, ahead of October at 2.8. Sandefjord'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 4 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge over Sandefjord, on 24% of days. At Sandefjord's level the share runs from 19% in December to 31% in September, 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 4. 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/Oslo dates. 15 of the 30 nights at Sandefjord have at least 2 moon-free dark hours inside 10 PM to 2 AM, and Oct 6 has the most at 4 h. Tonight Sandefjord has 11 h 11 min of civil night, 55 min of it with the moon down.
- 2
57% lit
0.9 h
- 3
46% lit
2.4 h
- 4
35% lit
4.2 h
- 5
25% lit
6.0 h
- 6
16% lit
7.7 h
- 7
8% lit
9.3 h
- 8
3% lit
10.9 h
- 9
1% lit
11.8 h
- 10
0% lit
11.8 h
- 11
2% lit
11.9 h
- 12
5% lit
12.0 h
- 13
11% lit
12.1 h
- 14
17% lit
12.2 h
- 15
25% lit
12.3 h
- 16
34% lit
11.7 h
- 17
43% lit
10.4 h
- 18
52% lit
9.0 h
- 19
62% lit
7.5 h
- 20
71% lit
6.1 h
- 21
80% lit
4.7 h
- 22
87% lit
3.2 h
- 23
94% lit
1.8 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
0.0 h
- 29
81% lit
0.0 h
- 30
71% lit
1.4 h
- 31
60% lit
3.1 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 Norway
Among the 2 Glow towns in Vestfold, Sandefjord ranks 2nd by dipole latitude against a regional median of 59.1 degrees; Tønsberg sits highest at 59.1. Among the 32 Glow towns in Norway, Sandefjord ranks 27th by dipole latitude against a national median of 59.9 degrees; Tromsø sits highest at 67.5. On December 15 Sandefjord gets 15.8 hours of civil night, 26th longest of 32 in Norway, where the median is 16.0.
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Sandefjord?
- Sandefjord sits at 59.0 degrees geomagnetic. By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 4, and aurora is usually visible on the northern horizon at G1 (Kp 5) or less. Clear, dark sky over Sandefjord still decides it.
- When is it dark enough in Sandefjord?
- Every night at Sandefjord has civil darkness. Tonight has 11 h 11 min, and December 15 has 15.8 hours.
- What is the best month for aurora in Sandefjord?
- December, by civil night at Sandefjord times the clear share of the sky from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 average.
- How cloudy is Sandefjord in the dark months?
- About 76% mean cloud amount over Sandefjord 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 Sandefjord?
- A 3-hour Kp of 4 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge overhead, occurred on 24% of days from 1996 to 2025 in the GFZ Potsdam record.
Nearby and related
Nearest Glow towns
Sandefjord by month
Region and comparisons