Victoria, AustraliaMagnetic latitude 46.7°Population 29,808151 m above sea level
Can you see the southern lights in Wangaratta?
Only severe geomagnetic storms (Kp 8 or more) bring the aurora into view from Wangaratta — a few nights per solar cycle, low in the south. Since 1995 that level (Kp 8) was reached during darkness here on 22 nights.
Right now
It is still light here. Darkness starts at 20:30.
Latest measured half-hour activity worldwide: Hp30 0.7.
Updates every minute while this page is open. Ground data: GFZ Potsdam Hp30 index (CC BY 4.0).
Tonight in one minute
Not tonight
- Solar activity Too weak: Kp 2 expected, 8 needed here.
- Sky Mostly clear (1% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 20:30 to 05:29.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
- Detailed forecast Sat 17 2 No · Kp 2
- Sun 18 1.3 No · Kp 1.3
- Mon 19 1.7 No · Kp 1.7
- 27-day trend Tue 20 2 No · Kp 2
- Wed 21 3 No · Kp 3
- Thu 22 4 No · Kp 4
- Fri 23 4 No · Kp 4
- Sat 24 3 No · Kp 3
- Sun 25 2 No · Kp 2
- Mon 26 2 No · Kp 2
- Tue 27 2 No · Kp 2
- Wed 28 2 No · Kp 2
- Thu 29 2 No · Kp 2
- Fri 30 2 No · Kp 2
- Sat 31 5 No · Kp 5
- Sun 1 5 No · Kp 5
- Mon 2 3 No · Kp 3
- Tue 3 2 No · Kp 2
- Wed 4 2 No · Kp 2
- Thu 5 2 No · Kp 2
- Fri 6 3 No · Kp 3
- Sat 7 3 No · Kp 3
Sunday 18 October — No · Kp 2 · Forecast cloud: 1%. · Reliability: good
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 16:34 local time
Unlikely
Best around 20:00. Forecast max Kp 2.0 (this place needs 8), average cloud 1%.
- Dark enough
- 20:30 – 05:29
- Sunset
- 19:32 · sunrise 06:27
- Moon
- 37% · ↑ 11:24 · ↓ 01:52
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 8
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 6.3 (a red glow low in the south).
- Look towards
- south (188°)
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 | Sat, 20 | Sat, 23 | Sun, 02 | Sun, 05 | Sun, 22 | Mon, 01 | Mon, 04 | Mon, 21 | Tue, 00 | Tue, 03 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 2% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 1% |
| Mid cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 1% | 0% | 0% | 8% | 3% | 13% |
| High cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 2% | 100% | 65% |
| Temperature | 17 °C | 12 °C | 10 °C | 11 °C | 14 °C | 12 °C | 10 °C | 17 °C | 14 °C | 14 °C |
| Feels like | 16 °C | 12 °C | 9 °C | 9 °C | 15 °C | 11 °C | 9 °C | 16 °C | 14 °C | 13 °C |
| Wind | 1 m/s | 1 m/s | 1 m/s | 1 m/s | 0 m/s | 1 m/s | 0 m/s | 2 m/s | 1 m/s | 0 m/s |
| Visibility | 50 km | 50 km | 48 km | 13 km | 48 km | 44 km | 44 km | 50 km | 50 km | 50 km |
Cloud layers and weather: Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0).
Score = activity (NOAA Kp and OVATION) × clear sky (MET Norway) × darkness × moonlight. Methodology
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What you would see from Wangaratta
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 | -5° | -2° | 1,757 km |
| 3 | Below the horizon | -3° | 0° | 1,535 km |
| 4 | Below the horizon | -1° | 3° | 1,312 km |
| 5 | Below the horizon | 1° | 5° | 1,090 km |
| 6 | Below the horizon | 3° | 9° | 867 km |
| 7 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 6° | 14° | 645 km |
| 8 | Visible to the south | 12° | 23° | 423 km |
| 9 | Visible to the south | 27° | 44° | 200 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 next 24 h Bright in the Arctic; low on the horizon in central Scandinavia and southern Iceland.
- Kp 4 Active 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) camera in Wangaratta Northern England, Denmark, northern Germany and Poland, the US Midwest — often clearer in photos than to the eye.
- Kp 7 Strong storm (G3) Most of the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Czechia; red glow in photos from France and the northern Alps.
- Kp 8 Severe storm (G4) eye in Wangaratta 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 Wangaratta
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
Activity of Kp 8 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 | 0.2% | 85% | 9.8 h | 15° / 28°C |
| April | 0.2% | 84% | 11.0 h | 10° / 23°C |
| May | 0.2% | 81% | 11.8 h | 7° / 18°C |
| June | 0.2% | 71% | 12.3 h | 4° / 14°C |
| July | 0% | 73% | 12.0 h | 4° / 13°C |
| August | 0.3% | 80% | 11.3 h | 4° / 15°C |
| September | 0.2% | 84% | 10.3 h | 6° / 18°C |
| October | 0% | 80% | 9.0 h | 9° / 23°C |
Aurora nights in Wangaratta since 1995
Nights when Kp reached 8 or more while it was dark here.
Most recent strong nights
- 1 January 2025 · Kp 8.0
- 12 August 2024 · Kp 8.0
- 11 May 2024 · Kp 9.0
- 10 May 2024 · Kp 8.7
- 24 March 2024 · Kp 8.3
- 23 April 2023 · Kp 8.3
- 8 September 2017 · Kp 8.3
- 22 June 2015 · Kp 8.3
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Albury Airport (ABX) · 66 km
- Typical low / high in August
- 4° / 15°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 Wangaratta?
Only severe geomagnetic storms (Kp 8 or more) bring the aurora into view from Wangaratta — a few nights per solar cycle, low in the south.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Wangaratta?
Face south (about 188° from true north). At Kp 8 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 12° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
When is the aurora season in Wangaratta?
Wangaratta 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 Wangaratta?
Noticeable sky glow. Bright displays are visible, but driving out of town makes a clear difference.
When was the aurora last possible in Wangaratta?
The most recent night in our data when activity reached the level Wangaratta needs, during darkness, was 1 January 2025 (Kp 8.0). It has happened on 22 nights since 1995.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Wangaratta share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Waldara 5 km
- East Wangaratta 6 km
- Oxley Flats 7 km
- Bowser 7 km
- Londrigan 9 km
- Laceby 9 km
- Oxley 11 km
- Taminick 13 km
- Milawa 13 km
- Tarrawingee 14 km
- Killawarra 14 km
- Glenrowan 14 km
- Boorhaman 14 km
- Docker 18 km
- Boralma 18 km
- Peechelba 20 km
- Greta 20 km
- Boweya 20 km
- Eldorado 21 km
- Markwood 21 km
- Everton Upper 21 km
- Peechelba East 22 km
- Lower Everton 22 km
- Greta West 22 km
- Everton 22 km
- Thoona 23 km
- Yeerip 24 km
- Springhurst 24 km
- Boweya North 24 km
- Bobinawarrah 24 km
- Moyhu 25 km
- Bungeet 25 km
- Mokoan West 26 km
- Hansonville 27 km
- Woolshed 28 km
- Winton 28 km
- Upper Lurg 28 km
- Almonds 28 km
- Greta South 29 km
- Bungeet West 29 km