Yorkshire photographers capture stunning Northern Lights

The Northern Lights over Sheffield on Friday

The Northern Lights have wowed people across Yorkshire by lighting up the night sky in vivid green, magenta and blue.

The colours seen in the skies above cities, towns and villages inspired a number of photographers to submit their images to BBC Weather Watchers.

According to the Met Office, the lights, also known as aurora borealis, were caused by the first extreme geomagnetic storm since 2003.

BBC Weather said clear skies had made sightings possible from almost everywhere in the UK on Friday and they are set to return on Saturday evening.

• How can I see the Northern Lights tonight?

This was how the Northern Lights appeared above Shipley

They were equally vibrant in Wakefield

The aurora is caused by the interaction of solar wind, a stream of particles escaping the Sun, and Earth's atmosphere.

The most impressive auroras occur when the Sun emits really large clouds of particles called "coronal mass ejections".

The night sky above Sheffield was a wave of colour

Sally captured this picture of Cononley, near Skipton, in North Yorkshire

These so-called solar storms are not dangerous for humans on the ground, but can cause disruption to satellites and electronic devices.

BBC Look North's weather presenter Abbie Dewhurst said the NOAA (National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration) had issued a rare severe geomagnetic storm watch for this weekend.

Because of this, she said, aurora activity would be significantly enhanced and there would be a chance to see the lights again in coming days.

This was the view at Blackmoorfoot in Kirklees

Dean captured this image in Ripon