Met Office forecasters have said North East residents will have a rare glimpse at the Northern Lights - with tonight being the best time to see them.

If you missed your chance to catch a glimpse of the famed Northern Lights in May, also known as aroura borealis, you have a second chance tonight according to forecasters.

A geomagnetic storm has been forecast by the Met Office and you may be able to see the stunning sight if they keep their eyes peeled after the sun sets this evening.

The Met Office has also confirmed the possibility of “auroral displays”, but said it is limited to certain areas of the UK.

The forecaster told the Mirror: “Two Coronal Mass Ejections feature in the forecast, giving a peak chance of Strong Geomagnetic Storm (G3) conditions on Wednesday 24 July.

“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."

The Aurora Borealis stunned the nation earlier this summer, with dazzling light displays being visible as far south as Dorset, Essex, Cambridgeshire and Berkshire.

Sightings of the phenomena have increased in recent years and the explanation is well known in the science community, according to the Met Office.

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Krista Hammond, a Manager at the Met Office Space Weather Operations Centre (MOSWOC), said: “Activity on the sun, and in particular the number of visible sunspots, varies over roughly an 11-year period, known as the solar cycle.”

The last solar minimum, which is when the Sun had the lowest frequency of visible sunspots in the solar cycle, occurred in December 2019.

This means that the sun’s activity is currently increasing, with the next solar maximum expected around 2025.