People across Kent have cried with joy and ticked off parts of their bucket lists after they were lucky enough to catch a glimpse and photograph rare weather phenomena.

We take a look at some of the remarkable events that happened around the county last year including the Northern Lights, rainbow clouds and dust devils.

Northern Lights

Skygazers were stunned to see the Northern Lights illuminating the skies over Herne Bay and Folkestone in November.

One of which was Liz Whitehouse who managed to capture a stunning image showing the mix of green, red and magenta colours glowing above.

“A sight I thought I would never see in Kent (taken via phone camera), the Northern Lights from Reculver Towers,” her husband Adam posted on X, formally Twitter, alongside her pictures.

The Met Office confirmed sightings across the UK but said the best chances to see the spectacle, also known as Aurora Borealis, were in Scotland.

The Northern Lights are mostly seen in high-latitude regions and are caused by particles coming from the sun called the solar wind interacting with the Earth’s atmosphere.

But it was not the only time the natural light display was seen in Kent.

Two months before, photographer Chris Cork, from Maidstone, captured time-lapse footage of the Northern Lights at Reculver Beach.

Speaking to KentOnline at the time, he said: “When I saw the pink and purple colours straight away I was like, ‘wow’.

“I was excited to see the Aurora, it is quite rare to see it in the South East, we have gone out looking for it before but the conditions have never aligned before.

“But this time it was really exciting because we caught the peak of it and we are really pleased with the results, it was a bit more subtle with the naked eye, but it is clear as day on camera.”

Rainbow Clouds

Even more multi-coloured lights were spotted just a few weeks ago over the Isle of Sheppey, Maidstone, Herne Bay and Whitstable.

One emotional snapper said she was starstruck at seeing the rainbow clouds - scientifically known as nacreous clouds – from her front garden in Princes Charles Avenue, Minster.

Krystal Sheena Pearce, 37, told KentOnline: “There are two things on my bucket list - a helicopter ride and seeing lights in the sky like this.

"I jumped out my car and screamed to my mum and daughter as soon as I saw them.

“It just made me gobsmacked, it brought me tears of joy and has given me hope now for the future.”

They were also seen in Thanet, between Westgate and Margate, earlier in the year which left Ken Blight stunned as he was strolling along the seafront.

A rainbow cloud occurs because of something called cloud iridescence – a phenomenon caused when small water droplets or small ice crystals scatter the sun's light.

Although beautiful, this type of formation is said to be one of the most dangerous for our atmosphere as it contributes to the destruction of the ozone layer.

According to NASA, the clouds convert benign forms of chlorine into reactive, ozone layer-destroying ones all the while removing the chemicals that moderate its impact.

Fogbow

You may be forgiven if you missed this rare phenomenon as it is similar in some respects to a traditional rainbow.

A white rainbow, or fogbow as it is known, was seen back at the start of the year over the River Medway at The Strand, in Gillingham, by Andy France.

It is formed from sunlight interacting with water droplets contained in fog, mist or cloud, rather than interacting with raindrops as it does in a classic rainbow.

The droplets cause the light to undergo different physical processes, most notably diffraction, which leads to fogbows appearing to be devoid of colour, hence the nickname of white rainbows.

Moon Halo

Perhaps not as rare as the other events on this list, it still left residents baffled when they woke up to see a strange and eerie “ring of light" surrounding the moon.

Known as a moon halo, it is caused when moonlight passes through thin clouds of ice crystals high up in the Earth's atmosphere.

As it does this it is bent, similar to light passing through a lens, and the shape of the crystals causes it to be focused into a ring.

They are more common than most people think and can appear during any season and tend to appear several times a year, although they are most frequent in winter due to the colder weather.

Water Spout

While remaining a rare phenomenon, a number of water spouts have been seen off the Kent coast this year.

The spinning vortexes were seen above the sea off the Herne Bay coast in July and again in St Margaret’s Bay, Dover, in October.

A water spout is similar to a tornado, except touching bodies of water rather than the ground.

When they remain airborne without touching land or sea, they are known as funnel clouds, however, as soon as they touch the ground they become tornadoes, or water spouts if they come down over water.

Water spouts are very rare off UK coasts, and are more commonly seen in the US and tropical areas.

Dust Devil

Dramatic photos from July showed clippings of hay being thrown into the air by a dust devil, also known as a willy will, in Sandwich.

The natural event was captured by Andy Vilday, who sent his images to the Met Office which confirmed what it was.

According to the government agency, a dust devil is an upward-spiralling vortex of air that can vary in height from a few feet to over 1,000.

While they may look similar in appearance to tornadoes, they grow upwards from the ground, rather than down from clouds.

They are also not as powerful, and only last a few minutes because cool air is sucked into the base of the rising vortex, cooling the ground and cutting off its heat supply.

Bioluminescent algae

Finally photographers rushed to Botany Bay, in Broadstairs, in the summer as a rare luminous algae caused the sea to glow a beautiful neon blue.

The phenomenon is difficult to predict and requires “perfect conditions”.

Water movement is needed to see the illuminations, as the glow is actually a defence mechanism by the plant when its environment is disturbed.

Nature photographer Rebbeca Douglas was one who visited the coast as it was on her bucket list to see the “incredible” sight.