Home
Weather London
WeatherRadar
RainfallRadar
TemperatureRadar
WindRadar
LightningRadar
Weather News
Editor's Pick
Discover the app
Weather widget
Contact us
Apps
Career
    Home / Editor's Pick /

    Bathed in colour: Aurora shines over the UK and Ireland

14:00
27 February 2023

Bathed in colour
Aurora shines over the UK and Ireland

Aurora borealis
Sunday night's aurora snapped in Talmine, Scotland. - © Dawn Gibson-Hylands

The Northern Lights were spotted across the UK and Ireland on Sunday, and could appear again tonight!

Intense sightings of the aurora borealis were reported across the two countries yesterday thanks to the arrival of a strong solar flare from the Sun.

The natural phenomenon is typically found around the Earth’s poles, however stronger periods of solar activity can result in auroras descending to more southerly latitudes.

Aurora Borealis
Aurora over bridge
Aurora
Aurora
1/4
The display was also captured in Dunkeld, Perthshire last night. - © Keith Morris

In the UK, the aurora can be seen in the far north of Scotland at times of moderate activity in the right conditions.

For the display to be visible as far south as Cornwall is rare and only occurs at times of high solar activity.

In addition to reports in the UK and Ireland, the lights were also spotted in Europe with Weather & Radar users on the continent sending in their views of the lights.

We can expect more auroras in the coming years as the Sun approaches the solar maximum in 2025. This is the point in its 11-year solar cycle at which activity is at its highest.

Further sightings of the Northern Lights are expected tonight however thick cloud cover obscures the night sky for almost all areas of the UK and Ireland.

Check out the WeatherRadar for conditions in your area tonight and to find out exactly how auroras form take a look at our Weather Explained video below.

Aurora events
Ryan Hathaway
More on the topic
Cooler nights on the horizon. For parts of Europe. . . Thursday, 6 August 2026
Temperature Radar showing the night-time lows in Central Europe. Cooler air is reaching the west and north in particular, whilst the south-east remains significantly warmer.
Thursday, 6 August 2026

For parts of Europe

Cooler nights on the horizon
Europe's summer set to to break records. Extreme heat and drought. . . Tuesday, 11 August 2026
Split image showing a European heat map with temperatures reaching 39°C in France and Spain on the left, and a severely depleted river with exposed sandy banks beneath a bridge on the right.
Tuesday, 11 August 2026

Extreme heat and drought

Europe's summer set to to break records
Huge hailstones in Poland. Severe weather hits towns. . . Friday, 7 August 2026
Friday, 7 August 2026

Severe weather hits towns

Huge hailstones in Poland
All weather news
This might also interest you
Super Typhoon Bavi threatens Taiwan. Up to 1,000 mm of rain. . . Wednesday, 8 July 2026
The image shows an intense tropical cyclone over the western Pacific, east of Taiwan and the Philippines. The centre of the system is depicted as a light purple and white vortex with a clearly visible eye, surrounded by a ring of red and orange areas indicating the strongest wind speeds. A white arrow marks the typhoon’s predicted track towards the north-west, in the direction of Taiwan. To the west of the storm lie the Philippines, with the cities of Manila and Cebu; to the north of these lies Taiwan, with Taipei. Further west, the Chinese coast, including Hong Kong, and parts of Vietnam can be seen. The coloured wind map shows predominantly green areas outside the storm’s core, indicating significantly weaker winds. White streamlines illustrate the typhoon’s anti-clockwise circulation in the Northern Hemisphere. The highest wind speeds are concentrated around the eye of the cyclone.
Wednesday, 8 July 2026

Up to 1,000 mm of rain

Super Typhoon Bavi threatens Taiwan
Historic Storm Éowyn arrives. On this day.... . . Saturday, 24 January 2026
Split image showing a person in a yellow jacket struggling against strong winds and heavy rain on a street at night on the left, and an Irish wind forecast map on the right with red and purple shading, gusts up to 75 mph, and a wind warning icon, divided by a curved white line.
Saturday, 24 January 2026

On this day...

Historic Storm Éowyn arrives
Turbulent weather in the Canary Islands. Storm and rain. . . Friday, 12 December 2025
Weather graphic showing rain and wind fields over the Canary Islands and a central warning symbol.
Friday, 12 December 2025

Storm and rain

Turbulent weather in the Canary Islands
All articles
Weather & Radar

Weather & Radar is also available on

Google Play StoreApp Store

Company

Contact us Privacy Policy Legal info Accessibility statement

Services

Uploader

Socials

facebooktwittertikToklinkList