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Southern Lights in Manawatū-Whanganui Region, New Zealand

In Manawatū-Whanganui Region the aurora is visible from about Kp 8, first near Palmerston North. Palmerston North has the darkest skies among the larger places.

Next chance in Manawatū-Whanganui Region

None of the next 20 nights looks active enough here: you need about Kp 8 by eye or Kp 6.3 for photos. Big storms usually show up 1–3 days ahead — this page updates by itself.

Weather in Manawatū-Whanganui Region

General forecast for Palmerston North, the main town in Manawatū-Whanganui Region. Tonight's cloud cover for every town is on its aurora page.

Planning further ahead? See the hour-by-hour weather forecast for Palmerston North on Atlas of Seasons.

PlaceKp neededKp for photosLook towardsLight pollutionPopulation
Palmerston North 8 6.3 SSW Bright suburban sky 90,500
Whanganui 8.3 6.7 SSW Bright suburban sky 49,200

Best months in Manawatū-Whanganui Region

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.

0%10% January: 0% Jan February: 0% Feb March: 0% Mar April: 0% Apr May: 0% May June: 0% Jun July: 0% Jul August: 0% Aug September: 0% Sept October: 0% Oct November: 0% Nov December: 0% Dec
All years Near solar maximum Near solar minimum
  1. Kp 0–2 Quiet Only under the auroral oval: northern Norway, Swedish and Finnish Lapland, Iceland, Alaska, northern Canada.
  2. Kp 3 Unsettled Bright in the Arctic; low on the horizon in central Scandinavia and southern Iceland.
  3. Kp 4 Active Overhead in the Arctic; low in the north from southern Norway, Sweden, Finland and northern Scotland.
  4. Kp 5 Minor storm (G1) Scotland, southern Scandinavia, the Baltic states, the northern US states and southern Canada.
  5. Kp 6 Moderate storm (G2) camera in Palmerston North Northern England, Denmark, northern Germany and Poland, the US Midwest — often clearer in photos than to the eye.
  6. Kp 7 Strong storm (G3) Most of the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Czechia; red glow in photos from France and the northern Alps.
  7. Kp 8 Severe storm (G4) eye in Palmerston North Central Europe to the eye; red sky in photos from northern Italy, Spain, the Balkans and Turkey's Black Sea coast.
  8. 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).

The town pages in this region also cover 123 villages and districts nearby.

Smaller places