In pictures: The Northern Lights visible across the West Midlands sky

The Northern lights were seen across West Midlands on Sunday night. Credit: Stephanie Davies

Skies across the Midlands were illuminated last night by the aurora borealis, a natural phenomenon when the night sky is transformed with lights in purple, green, yellow, and red.

It is normally seen in countries closer to the Arctic circle, like Scandinavia, but in a rare treat, they illuminated skies across the United Kingdom, including the West Midlands.

ITV Central weather watchers and aurora-enthusiasts shared their images of the colourful sky.

Warwickshire-based weather enthusiast who tweets under the name Jack's Weather Channel, shared these breathtaking images of the skies from Hartshill Hayes Country Park, Warwickshire.

A colourful Sutton Coldfield sky Credit: Birmingham Weather

Twitter user Birmingham Weather captured this shot of the lights in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham on Sunday night.

The lightshow could be clearly seen in Cannock as well. 

The stunning purple sky was seen in Cannock Credit: Stephanie Davies

The national weather service encouraged users to upload pictures of any other sightings using the hashtag #LoveUKWeather.

The phenomenon happens when electrically charged particles from space enter the Earth's upper atmosphere at high speed.

The Northern Lights are best seen in darkness, away from any light pollution. The lights generally extend from 50 miles to as high as 400 miles above the Earth's surface.

The Met Office says people will have another chance to see the lights tonight and gave this advice on making the most of them.

  • You need a clear night with no cloud cover

  • Find a dark location with no light pollution

  • Look toward the northern horizon