The Northern Lights could be visible across the whole of the UK overnight as the most powerful solar storm in almost 20 years approaches. 

Space weather experts are expecting the buffeting wind to collide with our planet’s magnetic field at around 2am BST on Saturday morning, and this could trigger strong aurora at more southerly latitudes than normal.

The scale of the geomagnetic storm heading to Earth is the largest in two decades and the effects will likely last several days. 

The Northern Lights will likely be visible until dawn on Saturday, but may appear (in places with clear skies and not thunderstorms) on Saturday night too.

The Met Office’s space weather operations centre said that the clear spells overnight could lead to increased visibility for people in the UK and there is a chance they could be seen in the south of England.

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