Valmiera, Latvia
Northern lights in Valmiera
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/Riga
Storm level needed
Valmiera sits at 57.54N 25.43E in Valmiera, Latvia. The IGRF-14 centered dipole puts Valmiera at 55.2 degrees geomagnetic latitude, 2.4 degrees farther from the magnetic pole than its map latitude suggests. Valmiera sits at 55.2 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 Viljandi (92 km), Pärnu (109 km), Tartu (121 km). Viljandi sits 0.8 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 Valmiera has some civil darkness; the shortest month sample still has 3.3 hours. Glow's dark season, at least 4 hours of civil night between 18:00 and 06:00, runs from July 11 to May 31 across New Year, 325 days in 2026. Valmiera's longest night of the year, Dec 17, has 15 h 35 min of civil night.
Solar midnight at Valmiera, when the sun is lowest, falls at 00:13 on local clocks on December 15 and 01:19 on June 15. That is 13 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 Valmiera 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 | 15.0 h | 11.8 h | 87% | 2.0 h | |
| Feb | 13.0 h | 10.0 h | 84% | 2.1 h | |
| Mar | 10.8 h | 7.6 h | 75% | 2.7 h | |
| Apr | 8.1 h | 3.8 h | 65% | 2.8 h | |
| May | 5.3 h | 0.0 h | 60% | 2.2 h | |
| Jun | 3.3 h | 0.0 h | 65% | 1.2 h | |
| Jul | 4.3 h | 0.0 h | 65% | 1.5 h | |
| Aug | 7.0 h | 0.8 h | 66% | 2.4 h | |
| Sep | 9.8 h | 6.4 h | 70% | 2.9 hbest | |
| Oct | 12.2 h | 9.2 h | 77% | 2.8 h | |
| Nov | 14.4 h | 11.3 h | 86% | 2.0 h | |
| Dec | 15.6 h | 12.3 h | 87% | 2.0 h |
By the 15th-of-the-month sample, December is the darkest month at Valmiera with 15.6 hours of civil night and June the lightest at 3.3. Across the year Valmiera gets 3,611 hours of civil night. Astronomical night at Valmiera, the sun 18 degrees or more below the horizon, lasts 12.3 hours on December 15.
NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 all-hours climatology puts mean cloud amount for the 1 degree cell around Valmiera at 74% across the year, from 60% in May to 87% in January. In the months with at least 4 hours of civil night Valmiera averages 75%.
Multiplying civil night by the clear share of the sky gives September the best score, 2.9 hours, ahead of April at 2.8. Valmiera's equinox months score 2.7 in March and 2.9 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 Valmiera, on 3% of days. At Valmiera'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/Riga dates. 15 of the 30 nights at Valmiera have at least 2 moon-free dark hours inside 10 PM to 2 AM, and Oct 6 has the most at 4 h. Tonight Valmiera has 11 h 12 min of civil night, 1 h 16 min of it with the moon down.
- 2
58% lit
1.3 h
- 3
47% lit
2.7 h
- 4
35% lit
4.4 h
- 5
25% lit
6.0 h
- 6
16% lit
7.7 h
- 7
9% lit
9.3 h
- 8
4% lit
10.8 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
10% lit
12.1 h
- 14
17% lit
12.2 h
- 15
25% lit
12.1 h
- 16
33% lit
11.3 h
- 17
43% lit
10.1 h
- 18
52% lit
8.8 h
- 19
62% lit
7.4 h
- 20
71% lit
6.0 h
- 21
79% lit
4.6 h
- 22
87% lit
3.2 h
- 23
93% lit
1.8 h
- 24
98% lit
0.3 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
0.3 h
- 30
72% lit
1.6 h
- 31
61% lit
3.2 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 Latvia
Among the 2 Glow towns in Latvia, Valmiera ranks 2nd by dipole latitude against a national median of 55.4 degrees; Ventspils sits highest at 55.6. On December 15 Valmiera gets 15.6 hours of civil night, 1st longest of 2 in Latvia, where the median is 15.6.
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Valmiera?
- Valmiera sits at 55.2 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 Valmiera still decides it.
- When is it dark enough in Valmiera?
- Every night at Valmiera has civil darkness. Tonight has 11 h 12 min, and December 15 has 15.6 hours.
- What is the best month for aurora in Valmiera?
- September, by civil night at Valmiera times the clear share of the sky from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 average.
- How cloudy is Valmiera in the dark months?
- About 75% mean cloud amount over Valmiera 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 Valmiera?
- 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
Valmiera by month
Region and comparisons