Keep your eyes peeled and your fingers crossed
Us Brits could be in luck and catch a glimpse of the famous Northern Lights that people from all over the world travel thousands of miles to see every year.
As per a number of outlets, the Aurora Borealis (to give it its proper name) could apparently be visible in various parts of the UK tonight (October 11) due to a geomagnetic storm hitting Earth which has been caused by a solar flare.
Good Morning Britain weather presenter Alex Beresford also tweeted about the potential meteorological event.
There’s a chance to see the aurora tonight, more so in the north. Lots of solar activity and a release of plasma from the sun is set to collide with earth’s atmosphere amounting in this beautiful light display. Spoiler – could be cloudy but fingers crossed🤞🏽 pic.twitter.com/jLn5mbNefu
— Alex Beresford (@alexberesfordTV) October 11, 2021
On Sunday (October 10), the Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) – part of America’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) – issued a geomagnetic storm warning for both Monday October 11 and Tuesday October 12.
The Met Office said: “Aurora is possible through [the] 11th across much of Scotland, although cloud amounts are increasing, meaning sightings are unlikely”.
However, they went on to add that: “There is a slight chance of aurora reaching the far north of England”, though they added that caveat that: “cloud breaks and therefore sightings are more likely in Northern Ireland.”
As much as it would be some sight to behold for anyone fortunate enough to catch a glimpse, the effects of the solar flare and, in turn, the storm could potentially disrupt many countries’ power grids, as well as impact satellites and global communications systems.
The NOAA describes such a storm as a “major disturbance of Earth’s magnetosphere” that occurs when there is heightened activity caused by solar winds in the space environment surrounding Earth.
They went on to project that the storm could reach category G2 (moderately strong) and potentially hit Earth around early evening UK time, possibly lasting until Tuesday (October 12).
Related links:
- Met Office confirms snow is likely in weeks as Britain heads into winter
- World is not ready to overcome ‘once-in-a-century’ superstorm, warn scientists
- ‘Worst cold ever’ spreading across UK as sufferers complain they ‘can’t shift’ bug
