Photos: Northern Lights visible in several parts of Netherlands last night

Despite the cloudy weather, the Northern Lights were visible in several parts of the Netherlands on Sunday night. Residents of Nijmegen, Leeuwarden, and Apeldoorn, among others, posted pics of the natural phenomenon on social media.

The northern lights are usually visible at high altitudes, but this is the second time this year they’ve made an appearance in the Netherlands. They were visible for several nights in February.

These colorful lights are caused by outbursts on the sun releasing large quantities of charged particles into space. Due to the earth’s gravitational pull, these particles are mainly drawn to the north and south poles, where the magnetic field is strongest. The charged particles pass through the atmosphere at high speed and collide with each other, releasing energy and resulting in the colors visible in the sky.

This week will be a mix of rain and sunshine in the Netherlands, with Friday getting the most rain, according to the meteorological institute KNMI. The week will start out chilly, with maximums around 10 degrees expected until Wednesday. But by Sunday, temperatures could hit 20 degrees in parts of the country.