Otago Region, New ZealandMagnetic latitude 53.7°14 m above sea level
Southern lights in The Catlins (Owaka)
The Catlins (Owaka) needs an active night: from about Kp 4.3 the aurora appears low over the south-south-west horizon, and it rises higher as activity grows. Since 1995 storms of Kp 4.7 or more reached this place during darkness on 823 nights.
Right now
Quiet right now (Kp 1.3).
Latest measured half-hour activity worldwide: Hp30 2.3.
Updates every minute while this page is open. Ground data: GFZ Potsdam Hp30 index (CC BY 4.0).
Tonight in one minute
Only in photos, if at all
- Solar activity Enough for a camera: Kp 3 expected, 2.7 needed for photos, 4.3 for the eye.
- Sky Partly cloudy (66% cloud) — look for gaps.
- Darkness Dark from 21:27 to 05:23. A bright moon (76%) washes out faint displays.
What to do: Point a phone in night mode south-south-west (3–10 s exposure). A red or green glow often shows on the screen before you can see it.
Sunday 1 November — Good chance · Kp 5 · best around 00:30 · No cloud forecast this far ahead; in October about 34% of nights are clear here. · Reliability: low (rough trend)
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 23:26 local time
Unlikely
Best around 23:00. Forecast max Kp 3.0 (this place needs 4.3), average cloud 66%.
- Dark enough
- 21:27 – 05:23
- Sunset
- 20:17 · sunrise 06:34
- Moon
- 76% · ↑ 15:41 · ↓ 04:39
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 4.3
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 2.7 (a red glow low in the south-south-west).
- Look towards
- south-south-west (196°)
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 | Wed, 23 | Thu, 02 | Thu, 05 | Thu, 23 | Fri, 02 | Fri, 05 | Fri, 23 | Sat, 02 | Sat, 05 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low cloud | 0% | 6% | 35% | 37% | 47% | 89% | 30% | 37% | 13% |
| Mid cloud | 75% | 100% | 68% | 0% | 3% | 19% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| High cloud | 0% | 12% | 70% | 8% | 12% | 21% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Temperature | 12 °C | 10 °C | 11 °C | 11 °C | 9 °C | 7 °C | 12 °C | 9 °C | 7 °C |
| Feels like | 12 °C | 10 °C | 11 °C | 11 °C | 9 °C | 7 °C | 12 °C | 9 °C | 7 °C |
| Wind | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 4 m/s | 2 m/s | 1 m/s | 1 m/s | 1 m/s | 1 m/s | 1 m/s |
Cloud layers and weather: Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0).
Clearer skies nearby tonight
Forecast cloud during tonight's darkness: 66% here. The clearest option within 100 km is about 100 km to the north, with 35%. Open in OpenStreetMap
MET Norway forecast at 24 points within 100 km, averaged over the dark hours. Check roads and conditions before driving.
Score = activity (NOAA Kp and OVATION) × clear sky (MET Norway) × darkness × moonlight. Methodology
Weather in The Catlins (Owaka)
The aurora only shows through clear skies, so the weather matters as much as the Kp index. Here is the general forecast for The Catlins (Owaka): temperature, wind and the chance of rain for the coming days.
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What you would see from The Catlins (Owaka)
Facing south-south-west. 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 | 2° | 7° | 979 km |
| 3 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 4° | 11° | 756 km |
| 4 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 9° | 18° | 534 km |
| 5 | Visible to the south-south-west | 17° | 31° | 311 km |
| 6 | Visible to the south-south-west | 49° | 65° | 89 km |
| 7 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 8 | Overhead, and also to the north-north-east | – | – | – |
| 9 | Overhead, and also to the north-north-east | – | – | – |
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 camera in The Catlins (Owaka) Bright in the Arctic; low on the horizon in central Scandinavia and southern Iceland.
- Kp 4 Active eye in The Catlins (Owaka) 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) 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
Pristine dark sky. Almost no artificial light: faint aurora and the Milky Way are easy to see.
Estimate from NASA VIIRS night-light data (sky-glow model within 50 km). Check access and private land before you go.
Hills and mountains
The horizon towards the south-south-west is open (terrain below 2.5°), so low aurora is not blocked.
From elevation data (AWS Terrain Tiles) along seven lines of sight up to 30 km.
Best months to see the aurora in The Catlins (Owaka)
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
May has been the best month (4% of nights), followed by April (3%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March | 3% | 39% | 9.1 h | 9° / 18°C |
| April | 3% | 42% | 11.0 h | 7° / 15°C |
| May | 4% | 40% | 12.3 h | 5° / 12°C |
| June | 2% | 42% | 12.8 h | 4° / 9°C |
| July | 2% | 44% | 12.6 h | 3° / 9°C |
| August | 2% | 36% | 11.5 h | 4° / 10°C |
| September | 2% | 37% | 9.9 h | 4° / 13°C |
| October | 0.6% | 34% | 8.3 h | 5° / 14°C |
Aurora nights in The Catlins (Owaka) since 1995
Nights when Kp reached 4.7 or more while it was dark here.
Most recent strong nights
- 10 October 2026 · Kp 7.3
- 4 October 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 8 September 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 8 August 2026 · Kp 6.0
- 2 August 2026 · Kp 5.7
- 23 July 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 4 July 2026 · Kp 6.7
- 5 June 2026 · Kp 6.0
Where to watch near The Catlins (Owaka)
-
Nugget Point / Tokatā Lighthouse
Lighthouse on a high headland with ocean on three sides, a classic aurora photo location. · about 20 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Pūrākaunui Bay
Remote DOC campsite on a south-east-facing bay with no lights nearby. · about 15 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Curio Bay
Southern Catlins bay with open ocean horizons and dark skies. · about 60 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Waipapa Point Lighthouse
Lighthouse on a low point facing Foveaux Strait at the southern edge of the Catlins. · about 95 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
Local knowledge
- The Catlins is one of the southernmost areas of mainland New Zealand and has very little artificial light.
- Southland tourism names Nugget Point, Curio Bay and Waipapa Point as the best spots in the area.
- May to August gives the longest nights; check aurora alerts and the cloud forecast.
- Fuel and services are sparse, so fill up in Owaka or Balclutha before heading out at night.
- Pick an exposed coastal spot with a clear southern horizon and be prepared to wait.
Yellow-eyed penguins and sea lions live along this coast; keep your distance and avoid beaches at penguin landing areas around dusk.
Roads to Nugget Point and Pūrākaunui Bay include gravel sections; drive slowly in the dark.
The Nugget Point track runs along steep drops; use a torch and stay on the track.
Practical information
- Typical low / high in May
- 5° / 12°C
- What to wear
- Cool nights: layers, a windproof jacket, hat and gloves for standing still outside. Full clothing guide
- Emergency number
- 111 (free, works from mobiles without credit); 105 for non-emergency Police
- Winter driving
- NZTA advises anyone crossing alpine passes or travelling in the south and inland South Island in winter to carry chains and know how to fit them; from winter 2026 Queenstown Lakes District Council can fine drivers $750 for not fitting chains on council roads when 'chains required' signs are shown. Check NZTA Journey Planner for closures and 'chains essential' notices. Road conditions
- Access to land
- Freedom camping is allowed on DOC public conservation land unless a site is prohibited or restricted; scenic/recreation reserves are closed to it unless DOC provides a campsite, some sites are self-contained-vehicle only (from 7 June 2026 a green warrant card must be displayed), and breaches can be fined.
- Weather service
- MetService (Meteorological Service of New Zealand)
Questions and answers
What Kp do you need to see the aurora in The Catlins (Owaka)?
The Catlins (Owaka) needs an active night: from about Kp 4.3 the aurora appears low over the south-south-west horizon, and it rises higher as activity grows.
Which way should I look for the aurora in The Catlins (Owaka)?
Face south-south-west (about 196° from true north). At Kp 4.3 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 17° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
What is the best month to see the aurora in The Catlins (Owaka)?
Over 2005–2025, May gave the best odds in The Catlins (Owaka) (4% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by April (3%).
When is the aurora season in The Catlins (Owaka)?
The Catlins (Owaka) 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 The Catlins (Owaka)?
Almost no artificial light: faint aurora and the Milky Way are easy to see.
When was the aurora last possible in The Catlins (Owaka)?
Activity last reached storm level (Kp 5 or more) during darkness in The Catlins (Owaka) on 10 October 2026 (Kp 7.3) — 823 such nights since 1995. Here the aurora also appears on many quieter nights.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around The Catlins (Owaka) share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Owaka 1 km
- Ratanui 4 km
- Pounawea 4 km
- Katea 4 km
- Hunts Road 4 km
- Hinahina 4 km
- New Haven 5 km
- Owaka Valley 6 km
- Tarara 8 km
- Otekura 8 km
- Houipapa 8 km
- Glenomaru 8 km
- Tahatika 9 km
- Tawanui 10 km
- Port Molyneux 12 km
- Kaka Point 12 km
- Romahapa 13 km
- Awatea 13 km
- Puerua 15 km
- Paretai 16 km
- Purekireki 18 km
- Waiwera South 29 km
- Taumata 37 km