There's a chance solar storms may bring northern lights to several northern U.S states just in time for the new year.

The northern part of the country could see pink and red streaks in the skies this week, just in time for New Year’s Eve, according to NOAA.

A winter storm system is expected to bring up to eight inches of mixed precipitation to the St. Louis area, with areas north of I-70 seeing mainly snow, areas south of metro St. Louis facing significant icing, and the metro area in a transition zone with many forms of winter precipitation in the forecast.

Millions of Brits celebrating New Year’s tonight could make the event even more special after a powerful solar flare could allow people to see the northern lights. The aurora borealis will be viewable across huge portions of the UK tonight,

The Northern Lights are caused with charged particles, ejected by the sun, interact with gases in our atmosphere. Oxygen atoms glow green - the colour most often seen in the Northern Lights. Nitrogen atoms emit purple,

That same activity can lead to aurorae, however, such as the northern and southern lights. This time around that meant that the northern lights could be seen at relatively low latitudes, including as far south as the midwest.