Met Office predicts Northern Lights could be seen tonight

The colourful display may be visible again above Merseyside

The Met Office has forecasted a rare opportunity to see the stunning Northern Lights tonight – and the auroral displays could be spotted from Merseyside. According to the report, a geomagnetic storm is taking place today, July 24, and a large part of the UK could be in for seeing the Northern Lights again this year.

Auroral displays occur when charged particles collide with gases in the Earth’s atmosphere around the magnetic poles. Northern areas of the UK will have the best chance of seeing the Northern Lights as a result this evening.

The geomagnetic storm means a colourful display as seen earlier this year across our region, could be visible, but the right weather conditions are needed. To spot the aurora, dark and clear conditions are required, away from light pollution.

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The Met Office’s latest space weather forecast predicts the geomagnetic storm is expected until 11.59pm tonight (Wednesday). On their website, they said: “A Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) is likely to arrive early on 24 July, giving a peak chance of Strong Geomagnetic Storm (G3) conditions.

“This may result in auroral displays down to Northern Ireland, northern England and similar geomagnetic latitudes, albeit impeded by the near-full moon and limited hours of darkness.” Back in May, many will remember the “insane” Northern Lights creating magical skies above Liverpool and beyond.

The Northern Lights, also known as Aurora borealis, were spotted in areas such as Huyton, Crosby, Belle Vale and Norris Green. Many shared their incredible photos of scenes across the region on social media.

ECHO photographer Colin Lane captured some incredible images of the Northern Lights in Crosby at the time. Upon seeing the Aurora, Colin said: “It’s mega guys, what a night…insane colours.”