Northern Lights 'red alert' issued for UK with Auora 'likely' visible tonight

The Northern Lights are 'likely' to be visible in the UK this evening and tomorrow, experts monitoring the aurora borealis have said.

AuroraWatch UK, a free service run by scientists at Lancaster University, says the best chances to see the Northern Lights will be at around midnight and at around 7pm on Tuesday evening (October 8). A map issued by the team shows those living across Scotland, particularly the northwest of the country, will be best placed to watch the rare aurora borealis appear, the Mirror reports.

When it does appear, the sky typically turns pink, purple, blue and green, just like it did in May when the Northern Lights were visible for those living as far south as Kent. AuroraWatch UK's website reads: "Red alert: aurora likely."

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It adds it has received reports of positive sightings of aurora borealis from people in Birmingham so far this evening (October 7).

In order to see the multicolour light show, you'll have to wait until late this evening. The sky needs to be as clear as possible - if there's clouds, it may obscure your view.

But conditions look set, at around midnight or 1am tomorrow, for decent chances, forecasters say. The further away you can be from artificial lights the better, as light pollution can also make the Northern Lights more difficult to spot.

As the name suggests, you should face North when trying to look for them. The Met Office says there will be "clear spells" for many tonight before rain on Tuesday morning, notably for most of Scotland.

It'll be wet across Wales and Southwest England later during Tuesday. It follows heavy rain on Sunday for many, particularly Northern Ireland.

More than 24mm of rain battered Murlough, a nature reserve in County Down on Sunday, the Met Office data shows.