An aurora australis lights up the sky above the Clyde Dam in Central Otago. Photo: ODT filesA fast-moving coronal mass ejection (CME) from the sun hit Earth yesterday, causing a severe G4 geomagnetic storm and a spectacular aurora australis was expected across southern skies last night. While the forecast for Dunedin was quite cloudy, he was confident the skies would be clearer inland. Dr Griffin said it meant more aurora might be visible in southern skies for the next few days. While rain was forecast for most of Otago, the skies above Southland were expected to be clear for most of the night.

Freshwater gold clams, which represent an enormous threat to New Zealand freshwater. Photo: Earth Sciences New ZealandThe gold clam, a southeast Asian freshwater mollusc bivalve shell, has been found in the Waikato River and elsewhere nearby. The gold clam, Corbicula fluminea, is a hermaphrodite and can self-fertilise, helping it to multiply extraordinarily rapidly. Gold clams could be imported in small boats. Gold clams were recently found in Lake Rotomanu, New Plymouth, forcing authorities to drain the entire lake out to sea.

Decisions on the new Gore District Plan are right around the corner, and the updated document is to be released at the end of the month. The current Gore District Plan has been in place since 2006, and decisions on the full-scale review are due to be released on January 31. The plan covers a wide area, providing a framework for land use management and development, resource consent, and a path forward for residents in the district. The Gore District Council successfully sought an extension for the release from August of last year, citing a high volume of complex submissions. General manager operations David Bainbridge-Zafar said, in a statement, further information on the District plan would be available soon.

Wheat crops took a beating and in some cases were stripped bare of their grain after a trio of hail storms ravaged Canterbury arable farms. Photo: suppliedArable growers are reeling from up to $10 million in crop losses after a trio of widespread hail storms whipped through Canterbury farms. A disaster relief insurance scheme, compulsory for wheat growers, run by the United Wheatgrowers New Zealand (UWG), covers only feed and milling wheat crops. "We have had three back-to-back hail storms coming through Christmas and we are up to 73 claims. He said losses varied from 5% of wheat crops to a few of them being completely written off — unseen before.

Photo: Getty ImagesThe Deep South has had a dry start to 2026, the MetService says. Meteorologist Lewis Ferris said while it had been dry, there had been some rain earlier in the month. "So [last] week could prove very important for getting rain to to those dry places, as people shouldn’t count on average rain through the second half of January and the month of February — especially with temperatures being on the warmer side than average." "Current models have February looking pretty typical La Nina — low-pressure systems in the north and Tasman Sea, high pressure draped across the South Island. StatisticsInvercargillRainfall2025 1039.4mm2024 1359.3mmaverage 986.1mmTemperature2025 max 29.9°C (Feb 16) min -3.2°C (4 Aug)2024 max 28.1°C (Jan 19) min -4.7°C (13 Jul)Wind2025 max gust 137kmh (Oct 23)2024 max gust 122kmh (Oct 20)GoreRainfall2025 937.2mm2024 1117.4mmaverage 921.7mmTemperature2025 max 30.2°C (Feb 16) min -3.2°C (Aug 4)2024 max 29.3°C (Jan 19) min -4.2°C (Jul 15)Wind2025 max gust 124kmh (Oct 23)2024 max gust 107kmh (Feb 19)roni.mcdonald@alliedmedia.co.nz

Despite acknowledging the publication of the defendant’s name would be unlikely to cause severe prejudice to his career, Justice Boldt also suppressed his occupation. He was critical of the police’s decision to even charge the man, who was anonymised in court documents as "Mr L". "Mr L was acquitted and it is clear, at least with the benefit of hindsight, that he was unlucky to be charged," Justice Boldt said. "The messages should have given the police pause before they decided to charge Mr L," Justice Boldt said. "But for an unfortunate charging decision, all interactions between Mr L and the complainant would have remained private.

Riverton trainer Kelvin Tyler is wary of carrying the top weight but is confident Master Marko will be back to his best tomorrow. Since then, Master Marko has placed six times, had a win on his home track and finished just outside the money at the Timaru Cup. "He’s got quite a bit of weight to lug around so it’s going to be a big ask for him. The bigger picture for Master Marko will be the Gore Cup on February 1. That is also a target for stablemate Go Lotte, lining up alongside Master Marko in the McCallums Group Handicap tomorrow.

A Queenstown hairdresser who attacked his flatmate with a knife is likely to be deported. The defendant then grabbed a large kitchen knife and began swinging it at the victim, who was cut on his fingers as he tried to defend himself. Kalutharage also caused cuts to the victim’s upper arm and ear before a third flatmate entered the kitchen, restrained him and forced him to release the knife. Brandishing the knife by his head, Kalutharage advanced on the victim, but a fourth flatmate managed to grab his arm and take the knife off him. Although his visa was not due to expire until September, he was likely to be deported before then.

Southland’s Lana Marshall is a finalist in the transtasman Zanda McDonald agribusiness award. That is how Southland woman Lana Marshall describes her progression through the transtasman Zanda McDonald agribusiness award to finalist. Mrs Marshall, 31, is a client director at NZAB in Invercargill and balances her professional advisory role with hands-on farming as a 50:50 sharemilker with her husband, Elliott. Fearing she was not good enough to apply for the award, Mrs Marshall said she was pushed into it and decided she would give it a crack. "One minute is not long enough for me to tell them that I’m a bit of a talker," she laughed.

Most of Dunedin’s Moana Pool has been returned to operation. The main pool, dive lap pool and leisure pool were operating again yesterday. The spa pool was still closed at 6pm and plumbing contractors were continuing to work on pipes associated with the pump system, the Dunedin City Council said in a social media post. A pump issue had been identified on Monday and the pool closed early. — Allied Media

New Zealand roared into form with a 6-1 win over Iceland on the second day of the division 2, group B under-20 men’s world championship in Belgrade yesterday. Dunedin Thunder forward William Bary scored for a second straight game for the Junior Ice Blacks, while Queenstown defenceman Lachlan Boniface had an assist. The New Zealand under-18 women opened their campaign at the division 2, group A tournament in Istanbul with a 13-2 loss to Kazakhstan. — Allied Media

As the much-anticipated Mainlander train rolled into the Dunedin Railway Station yesterday, waiting on the platform for his daughter and grandchildren was one excited Dunedin grandfather. Yesterday, The Mainlander, run by the Rail and Tourism Group, finished the first half of its inaugural trip from Christchurch to Invercargill. On the sold-out trip was Christchurch resident Caroline Skegg, who made the trip south with her children, Charlotte, 11, and Joey van Tulder, 8. Christchurch resident Caroline Skegg and her two children, Joey and Charlotte van Tulder, travelled south on the Mainlander to visit their grandfather, Sir David Skegg. The Christchurch to Dunedin leg of the trip had about 130 passengers and took almost eight hours.

Furthermore, they said staff failed to recognise clear warning signs that he was seriously unwell in the days before he was hospitalised. Staff member A recollected that Mr B had been unwell during the day, but the provider noted that this was not staff member B's recollection." At about 4pm, Mr B called out that he was "dizzy and thirsty", and was brought drinks. Systemic failures included the ineffective management of Mr B's syndrome, inadequate leadership oversight, poor record-keeping, and inadequate staff member supervision of Mr B. Mr B's worsening health and ultimately his death were "avoidable", Wall said.

Photo: NZTAA multi-vehicle crash caused delays for motorists on a key southern highway today. The four-vehicle crash occurred on the Lindis Pass (State Highway 8) between Waitaki and Central Otago shortly before midday. A police spokesperson said minor injuries had been reported. The road remained open but traffic management was set up and queues of traffic built up for a time while the scene was cleared. In an update about 12.45pm NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi said traffic flow was back to normal.

The collision happened on a stretch of State Highway 6 in Winton just after 3pm last Thursday. The collision happened on a stretch of State Highway 6 in Winton just after 3pm last Thursday. Photo / Google MapsA 75-year-old Italian woman has been named as the victim of a fatal crash in the Southland town of Winton. Patrizia Botti died in a two-vehicle crash on State Highway 6 along the stretch of road known as Great North Rd last Thursday. One other person involved in the crash sustained moderate injuries, while two others were treated for minor injuries.