Northern Lights in UK as rare RED alert issued - exactly where you can see aurora borealis mapped

Brits will "likely" be able to catch a glimpse of the spectacular this evening and tomorrow, it has emerged.

AuroraWatch UK, which monitors the phenomenon, says the best chances to see the will be at around midnight and at around 7pm on Tuesday evening.

A map issued by the team shows those living across , particularly the northwest of the country, will be best placed to watch the rare aurora borealis appear. When it does, the sky typically turns pink, purple, blue and green, just like it did in May when .

AuroraWatch UK's website reads: "Red alert: aurora likely." The free service is delivered by scientists at Lancaster University. It adds it has received reports of positive sightings of aurora borealis from people in Birmingham so far this evening.

It was accurate in predicting the phenomenon in May, after which the readers sent in their photographs of the spectacular show. Nicole Jay, who watched the display from her garden in Essex with husband Richie, said: "It was such an incredible experience. Especially from our own garden! A little bit of magic."

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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 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.