Londoners may get the chance to see the Northern Lights from their windows as a rare solar storm sweeps across the UK.
The aurora borealis could be visible across the whole country on Friday and Saturday night with clear skies improving the chances of the phenomenon being visible.
Skies are expected to light up across the northern half of the UK, with a chance that the whole nation will see the colourful skies.
There’s a been a lot of activity on the Sun which means charged particles are hurtling towards to Earth 🌍
— Simon King (@SimonOKing) May 10, 2024
Aurora could be visible across the WHOLE of the U.K. tonight and Sat night. Only thing against us is the shorter amount of dark skies. pic.twitter.com/19OAiQpv3f
The BBC’s Lead weather presenter and meteorologist Simon King said: “There’s been a lot of activity on the Sun which means charged particles are hurtling towards Earth.
“Aurora could be visible across the whole of the UK tonight and Saturday night. The only thing against us is the shorter amount of dark skies.
“There’ll be lots of clear skies too.
“The geomagnetic storm heading our way will be one of the strongest in a long time, hence the significantly enhanced auroral activity.”
Meanwhile, ITV weather presenter and meteorologist Chris Page said there are signs that the Severe Geomagnetic Storm will be the strongest since 2005.
The best time to view the Northern Lights is usually just after sunset or just before sunrise.
The best weather will be in Scotland and the northern parts of England and Ireland, where the aurora borealis will be most visible.
A Met Office update noted: “Where skies are clear and provided dark enough skies, sightings are expected to develop following the CME arrival across the northern half of the UK, with a chance that aurora may become visible to all parts of the UK and similar geomagnetic latitudes.
“Aurora activity may remain enhanced after this given the potential for further Earth directed CMEs in the coming days.”
The aurora borealis will also cover all of Canada and stretch to several US states including North Dakota, South Dakota, Idaho, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.
