Västerbotten, Sweden
Northern lights in Umeå
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
Umeå sits at 63.83N 20.26E in Västerbotten, Sweden. The IGRF-14 centered dipole puts Umeå at 61.9 degrees geomagnetic latitude, 1.9 degrees farther from the magnetic pole than its map latitude suggests. Umeå sits at 61.9 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 3.
"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 Örnsköldsvik (97 km), Vaasa (106 km), Skellefteå (108 km). Örnsköldsvik sits 0.3 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 18 to July 24 the sun never reaches -6 degrees, so 68 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 7 to May 4 across New Year, 271 days in 2026. Umeå's longest night of the year, Dec 19, has 16 h 57 min of civil night.
Solar midnight at Umeå, when the sun is lowest, falls at 23:34 on local clocks on December 15 and 00:39 on June 15. That is 26 min before midnight in December and 39 min after midnight in June, the gap set by daylight saving and the equation of time. So at Umeå 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 | 16.1 h | 12.1 h | 82% | 2.9 h | |
| Feb | 13.4 h | 9.8 h | 80% | 2.7 h | |
| Mar | 10.5 h | 6.5 h | 74% | 2.7 h | |
| Apr | 6.9 h | 0.0 h | 68% | 2.2 h | |
| May | 1.8 h | 0.0 h | 61% | 0.7 h | |
| Jun | 0.0 h | 0.0 h | 63% | 0.0 h | |
| Jul | 0.0 h | 0.0 h | 64% | 0.0 h | |
| Aug | 5.3 h | 0.0 h | 66% | 1.8 h | |
| Sep | 9.2 h | 4.7 h | 70% | 2.8 h | |
| Oct | 12.4 h | 8.8 h | 77% | 2.9 h | |
| Nov | 15.3 h | 11.4 h | 82% | 2.8 h | |
| Dec | 16.9 h | 12.7 h | 80% | 3.4 hbest |
By the 15th-of-the-month sample, December is the darkest month at Umeå with 16.9 hours of civil night and June the lightest at 0.0. Across the year Umeå gets 3,276 hours of civil night. Astronomical night at Umeå, the sun 18 degrees or more below the horizon, lasts 12.7 hours on December 15.
NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 all-hours climatology puts mean cloud amount for the 1 degree cell around Umeå at 72% across the year, from 61% in May to 82% in January. In the months with at least 4 hours of civil night Umeå averages 75%, 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, 3.4 hours, ahead of January at 2.9. Umeå's equinox months score 2.7 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 3 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge over Umeå, on 50% of days. At Umeå's level the share runs from 43% in June to 58% 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 3. 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 Umeå have at least 2 moon-free dark hours inside 10 PM to 2 AM, and Oct 6 has the most at 4 h. Tonight Umeå has 11 h 5 min of civil night, 0 min of it with the moon down.
- 2
57% lit
0.0 h
- 3
46% lit
0.2 h
- 4
35% lit
3.1 h
- 5
25% lit
5.3 h
- 6
16% lit
7.3 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
12.0 h
- 12
5% lit
12.1 h
- 13
11% lit
12.2 h
- 14
17% lit
12.3 h
- 15
25% lit
12.4 h
- 16
34% lit
12.5 h
- 17
43% lit
12.6 h
- 18
52% lit
10.3 h
- 19
62% lit
8.4 h
- 20
71% lit
6.7 h
- 21
80% lit
5.1 h
- 22
87% lit
3.5 h
- 23
94% lit
1.8 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
2.1 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 Sweden
Among the 2 Glow towns in Västerbotten, Umeå ranks 2nd by dipole latitude against a regional median of 62.3 degrees; Skellefteå sits highest at 62.7. Among the 74 Glow towns in Sweden, Umeå ranks 7th by dipole latitude against a national median of 57.9 degrees; Kiruna sits highest at 65.7. On December 15 Umeå gets 16.9 hours of civil night, 6th longest of 74 in Sweden, where the median is 15.8.
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Umeå?
- Umeå sits at 61.9 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 3. Clear, dark sky over Umeå still decides it.
- When is it dark enough in Umeå?
- Civil night, the sun at -6 degrees or lower, is missing from May 18 to Jul 24. Tonight has 11 h 5 min of it.
- What is the best month for aurora in Umeå?
- December, by civil night at Umeå times the clear share of the sky from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 average.
- How cloudy is Umeå in the dark months?
- About 75% mean cloud amount over Umeå 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 Umeå?
- A 3-hour Kp of 3 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge overhead, occurred on 50% of days from 1996 to 2025 in the GFZ Potsdam record.
Nearby and related
Nearest Glow towns
Umeå by month
Region and comparisons