South Australia, AustraliaMagnetic latitude 43.9°Population 13,89610 m above sea level
Can you see the southern lights in Port Pirie?
From Port Pirie the aurora is too low for the naked eye except in the most extreme storms, but in severe storms (about Kp 7.3 or more) cameras record a red glow low in the south. Strong enough for photos on 56 nights since 1995 — most recently on 10 October 2026.
Right now
It is still light here. Darkness starts at 20:32.
Updates every minute while this page is open.
Tonight in one minute
Not tonight
- Solar activity Too weak: Kp 3.3 expected, 7.3 needed here.
- Sky Overcast (84% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 20:32 to 05:32. A bright moon (81%) washes out faint displays.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
Thursday 22 October — No · Kp 3.3 · Forecast cloud: 82%. · Reliability: medium
Each box is one night: the colour shows the chance, the number the expected Kp. Tap a night for details.
📅 Add these nights to your calendar — it updates itself (.ics)
How far ahead can the northern lights be forecast?
- Minutes to an hour: satellites 1.5 million km away measure the solar wind before it reaches Earth. This is the surest warning — the “Right now” box uses it.
- 1–3 days: when the Sun throws out a cloud of particles, it takes one to three days to arrive. NOAA's 3-hourly forecast covers these nights; the timing can still be off by a few hours.
- 4–27 days: the Sun turns once every 27 days, and regions that disturbed Earth's field last time often do it again. NOAA's 27-day outlook gives this rough trend — new eruptions are not in it yet.
Tonight
Updated 13:12 local time
Unlikely
Best around 20:30. Forecast max Kp 3.3 (this place needs 9+), average cloud 84%.
- Dark enough
- 20:32 – 05:32
- Sunset
- 19:36 · sunrise 06:28
- Moon
- 81% · ↑ 15:36 · ↓ 04:28
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 9+
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 7.3 (a red glow low in the south).
- Look towards
- south (184°)
Cloud layers and weather
Low cloud blocks the aurora completely. Thin high cloud often still lets a bright aurora shine through, so a sky with only high cloud is worth a look.
| Time | Thu, 20 | Thu, 23 | Fri, 02 | Fri, 20 | Fri, 23 | Sat, 02 | Sat, 20 | Sat, 23 | Sun, 02 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 29% | 42% | 34% |
| Mid cloud | 49% | 42% | 46% | 30% | 32% | 40% | 54% | 63% | 58% |
| High cloud | 61% | 35% | 11% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 86% | 100% | 87% |
| Temperature | 27 °C | 24 °C | 22 °C | 20 °C | 18 °C | 16 °C | 18 °C | 16 °C | 15 °C |
| Feels like | 27 °C | 24 °C | 22 °C | 20 °C | 18 °C | 16 °C | 18 °C | 16 °C | 15 °C |
| Wind | 3 m/s | 2 m/s | 1 m/s | 4 m/s | 4 m/s | 4 m/s | 5 m/s | 5 m/s | 4 m/s |
Cloud layers and weather: Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0).
Score = activity (NOAA Kp and OVATION) × clear sky (MET Norway) × darkness × moonlight. Methodology
Weather in Port Pirie
The aurora only shows through clear skies, so the weather matters as much as the Kp index. Here is the general forecast for Port Pirie: temperature, wind and the chance of rain for the coming days.
Planning further ahead? See the hour-by-hour weather forecast for Port Pirie on Atlas of Seasons.
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What you would see from Port Pirie
Facing south. Bands show where the aurora sits at two activity levels.
| Kp | What you see | Lower edge | Ray tops | Distance to the aurora |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Below the horizon | -6° | -4° | 2,068 km |
| 3 | Below the horizon | -5° | -2° | 1,846 km |
| 4 | Below the horizon | -4° | 0° | 1,624 km |
| 5 | Below the horizon | -2° | 2° | 1,401 km |
| 6 | Below the horizon | 0° | 4° | 1,179 km |
| 7 | Below the horizon | 2° | 7° | 956 km |
| 8 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 5° | 12° | 734 km |
| 9 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 9° | 19° | 512 km |
The Kp scale in plain words
Kp is a 0–9 score for how strongly the Earth's magnetic field is being shaken by the solar wind. The higher it goes, the further from the poles the northern lights reach. Kp 0–2 is a quiet night; Kp 5 and above is a geomagnetic storm.
- Kp 0–2 Quiet Only under the auroral oval: northern Norway, Swedish and Finnish Lapland, Iceland, Alaska, northern Canada.
- Kp 3 Unsettled Bright in the Arctic; low on the horizon in central Scandinavia and southern Iceland.
- Kp 4 Active next 24 h Overhead in the Arctic; low in the north from southern Norway, Sweden, Finland and northern Scotland.
- Kp 5 Minor storm (G1) Scotland, southern Scandinavia, the Baltic states, the northern US states and southern Canada.
- Kp 6 Moderate storm (G2) Northern England, Denmark, northern Germany and Poland, the US Midwest — often clearer in photos than to the eye.
- Kp 7 Strong storm (G3) camera in Port Pirie Most of the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Czechia; red glow in photos from France and the northern Alps.
- Kp 8 Severe storm (G4) Central Europe to the eye; red sky in photos from northern Italy, Spain, the Balkans and Turkey's Black Sea coast.
- Kp 9 Extreme storm (G5) Seen across Europe and the US; in photos as far south as the Mediterranean, Turkey and North Africa (May 2024).
Light pollution
Suburban sky. Noticeable sky glow. Bright displays are visible, but driving out of town makes a clear difference.
Estimate from NASA VIIRS night-light data (sky-glow model within 50 km). Check access and private land before you go.
Hills and mountains
Terrain is not modelled for this place.
From elevation data (AWS Terrain Tiles) along seven lines of sight up to 30 km.
Best months to see the aurora in Port Pirie
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
Activity of Kp 9+ or more is too rare here for monthly odds to be meaningful. The table still shows how often nights are clear and dark.
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March | 0% | 87% | 9.8 h | 16° / 30°C |
| April | 0% | 86% | 11.0 h | 13° / 25°C |
| May | 0% | 85% | 11.6 h | 9° / 20°C |
| June | 0% | 85% | 11.9 h | 6° / 16°C |
| July | 0% | 88% | 11.8 h | 6° / 16°C |
| August | 0% | 89% | 11.3 h | 6° / 17°C |
| September | 0% | 93% | 10.3 h | 8° / 21°C |
| October | 0% | 84% | 9.0 h | 11° / 25°C |
Nights when Port Pirie could catch it in photos
Since 1995, nights with Kp 7.3 or more while it was dark here — a red or green glow low on the horizon.
- 10 October 2026 · Kp 7.3
- 20 January 2026 · Kp 7.3
- 12 November 2025 · Kp 7.7
- 1 June 2025 · Kp 7.3
- 16 April 2025 · Kp 7.7
- 1 January 2025 · Kp 8.0
- 11 October 2024 · Kp 7.7
- 10 October 2024 · Kp 8.3
- 12 August 2024 · Kp 8.0
- 28 June 2024 · Kp 7.7
- 11 May 2024 · Kp 9.0
- 10 May 2024 · Kp 8.7
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Whyalla Airport (WYA) · 49 km
- Typical low / high in January
- 19° / 34°C
- What to wear
- Cool nights: layers, a windproof jacket, hat and gloves for standing still outside. Full clothing guide
- Emergency number
- 000 (112 also works from mobile phones)
- Winter driving
- Under Victoria's Alpine Resorts (Management) Regulations 2020, every vehicle entering Falls Creek, Mt Baw Baw, Mt Buller, Mt Hotham and Mt Stirling must carry fitting wheel chains during the declared snow season (2026: 7 June - 4 October). Check VicTraffic for live Victorian road disruptions; in Tasmania, elevated roads get snow and ice in winter and closures are posted via Tasmania Police alerts / TasALERT. Road conditions
- Access to land
- Most Tasmanian national parks require a valid Parks & Wildlife Service parks pass per vehicle (24-hour, holiday/8-week, annual options; Cradle Mountain excluded from the 24-hour pass). Check land tenure before parking at night and respect any local closures.
- Official space-weather service
- Bureau of Meteorology Australian Space Weather Forecasting Centre (Aurora Watch/Alert/Outlook)
- Weather service
- Bureau of Meteorology
Questions and answers
What Kp do you need to see the aurora in Port Pirie?
From Port Pirie the aurora is too low for the naked eye except in the most extreme storms, but in severe storms (about Kp 7.3 or more) cameras record a red glow low in the south.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Port Pirie?
Around Port Pirie the aurora is often right overhead. Start by facing south, but look up and all around — in strong storms it can fill the whole sky and even appear behind you.
When is the aurora season in Port Pirie?
Port Pirie gets dark enough for the aurora all year round, though the long winter nights give the most hours to watch.
Is there much light pollution in Port Pirie?
Noticeable sky glow. Bright displays are visible, but driving out of town makes a clear difference.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Port Pirie share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Solomontown 1 km
- Port Pirie South 1 km
- Risdon Park 2 km
- Port Pirie West 2 km
- Coonamia 2 km
- Port Pirie city centre 2 km
- Risdon Park South 3 km
- Napperby 10 km
- Weeroona Island 10 km
- Nelshaby 11 km
- Warnertown 11 km
- Broad Creek 14 km
- Telowie 16 km
- Port Davis 17 km
- Port Germein 19 km
- Beetaloo Valley 21 km
- Port Pirie 21 km
- Wandearah East 22 km
- Wandearah West 23 km
- Crystal Brook 25 km
- Laura 27 km
- Bangor 28 km
- Wirrabara 29 km
- Wongyarra 30 km
- Merriton 31 km
- Gladstone 33 km
- Caltowie West 34 km
- Murray Town 35 km
- Culdaburra 35 km
- Clements Gap 37 km
- Narridy 38 km
- Baroota 38 km
- Yandiah 39 km