Taranaki Region, New ZealandMagnetic latitude 45.2°Population 90,10064 m above sea level
Can you see the southern lights in New Plymouth?
Only severe geomagnetic storms (Kp 8.7 or more) bring the aurora into view from New Plymouth — a few nights per solar cycle, low in the south-south-west. Since 1995 that level (Kp 8.7) was reached during darkness here on 5 nights.
Right now
Quiet right now (Kp 1.3).
Latest measured half-hour activity worldwide: Hp30 3.3.
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, 8.7 needed here.
- Sky Mostly clear (24% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 20:51 to 05:23. A bright moon (86%) washes out faint displays.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
Friday 23 October — No · Kp 2 · Forecast cloud: 24%. · 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 04:42 local time
Unlikely
Best around 04:00. Forecast max Kp 2.0 (this place needs 8.7), average cloud 24%.
- Dark enough
- 20:51 – 05:23
- Sunset
- 19:50 · sunrise 06:25
- Moon
- 86% · ↑ 16:35 · ↓ 04:34
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 8.7
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 7 (a red glow low in the south-south-west).
- Look towards
- south-south-west (194°)
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 | Fri, 04 | Fri, 22 | Sat, 01 | Sat, 04 | Sat, 22 | Sun, 01 | Sun, 04 | Sun, 22 | Mon, 01 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 24% | 20% | 30% | 34% | 9% | 20% |
| Mid cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 32% | 55% | 50% | 0% | 0% |
| High cloud | 34% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 50% | 100% | 100% | 0% | 0% |
| Temperature | 13 °C | 14 °C | 13 °C | 13 °C | 14 °C | 14 °C | 14 °C | 14 °C | 14 °C |
| Feels like | 13 °C | 14 °C | 13 °C | 13 °C | 14 °C | 14 °C | 14 °C | 14 °C | 14 °C |
| Wind | 2 m/s | 1 m/s | 2 m/s | 3 m/s | 5 m/s | 5 m/s | 6 m/s | 6 m/s | 5 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 New Plymouth
The aurora only shows through clear skies, so the weather matters as much as the Kp index. Here is the general forecast for New Plymouth: temperature, wind and the chance of rain for the coming days.
Planning further ahead? See the hour-by-hour weather forecast for New Plymouth on Atlas of Seasons.
Seeing it right now?
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Live webcams near New Plymouth
Check the sky for yourself: public cameras within 300 km. They open on the camera owner's website.
These cameras belong to their owners — we only link to them. Most show little in daylight or under cloud, and some pause in summer.
What you would see from New Plymouth
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 | -6° | -3° | 1,924 km |
| 3 | Below the horizon | -4° | -1° | 1,701 km |
| 4 | Below the horizon | -3° | 1° | 1,479 km |
| 5 | Below the horizon | -1° | 3° | 1,257 km |
| 6 | Below the horizon | 1° | 6° | 1,034 km |
| 7 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 4° | 10° | 812 km |
| 8 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 7° | 16° | 589 km |
| 9 | Visible to the south-south-west | 14° | 27° | 367 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 next 24 h 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 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 New Plymouth 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 New Plymouth 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 New Plymouth
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
Activity of Kp 8.7 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% | 61% | 9.6 h | 17° / 19°C |
| April | 0% | 55% | 11.0 h | 16° / 18°C |
| May | 0.2% | 53% | 11.9 h | 14° / 16°C |
| June | 0% | 47% | 12.3 h | 12° / 14°C |
| July | 0% | 51% | 12.1 h | 11° / 13°C |
| August | 0.2% | 53% | 11.3 h | 11° / 13°C |
| September | 0% | 47% | 10.3 h | 12° / 14°C |
| October | 0% | 46% | 8.8 h | 12° / 14°C |
Aurora nights in New Plymouth since 1995
Nights when Kp reached 8.7 or more while it was dark here.
Most recent strong nights
- 11 May 2024 · Kp 9.0
- 24 August 2005 · Kp 8.7
- 27 July 2004 · Kp 8.7
- 31 March 2001 · Kp 8.7
- 15 July 2000 · Kp 8.7
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- New Plymouth Airport (NPL) · 10 km
- Typical low / high in May
- 14° / 16°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 New Plymouth?
Only severe geomagnetic storms (Kp 8.7 or more) bring the aurora into view from New Plymouth — a few nights per solar cycle, low in the south-south-west.
Which way should I look for the aurora in New Plymouth?
Face south-south-west (about 194° from true north). At Kp 8.7 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 14° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
When is the aurora season in New Plymouth?
New Plymouth 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 New Plymouth?
Noticeable sky glow. Bright displays are visible, but driving out of town makes a clear difference.
When was the aurora last possible in New Plymouth?
The most recent night in our data when activity reached the level New Plymouth needs, during darkness, was 11 May 2024 (Kp 9.0). It has happened on 5 nights since 1995.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around New Plymouth share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Welbourn 1 km
- Vogeltown 1 km
- Brooklands 1 km
- Merrilands 1 km
- Lower Vogeltown 1 km
- New Plymouth District 2 km
- Fitzroy 2 km
- Highlands Park 2 km
- Frankleigh Park 2 km
- Westown 2 km
- East End 2 km
- Strandon 2 km
- Ferndale 3 km
- Lynmouth 3 km
- Glen Avon 3 km
- Moturoa 4 km
- Hurdon 4 km
- Spotswood 4 km
- Omata 7 km
- Hillsborough 7 km
- Bell Block 7 km
- Kent Road 8 km
- Huatoki 8 km
- Tarurutangi 9 km
- Mangorei 9 km
- Egmont Village 10 km
- Sentry Hill 11 km
- Korito 11 km
- Waiongona 12 km
- Lepperton 12 km
- Oakura 13 km
- Inglewood 13 km
- Waitara 15 km
- Kaimiro 16 km
- Huirangi 16 km
- Te Tawa 17 km
- Tikorangi 18 km
- Tataraimaka 18 km
- Rahiri 19 km
- Motunui 21 km