Elijah Williams
The planet was just hit by what government officials have dubbed a severe geomagnetic storm, the second highest level in NOAA’s classification system. The event brought “a major disruption to Earth’s magnetic field” that may have impacted infrastructure and made the aurora borealis visible further away than usual, officials said.
NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center issued a geomagnetic storm watch on Saturday, saying that a coronal mass ejection was detected and is expected to hit the planet later the same day, with impacts on Monday. Coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, occur when a large cloud of plasma and magnetic field erupts from the solar corona.
This particular CME exploded in conjunction with a solar flare on Friday, an event that occurs when electromagnetic radiation suddenly erupts from the sun. NOAA says these explosions can last for hours and that the eruption “travels at the speed of light,” meaning it could impact Earth as soon as it is observed. One Class X Flag, like what was observed with the CME, is the strongest type of eruption, although this particular one was not the strongest ever recorded. NOAA meteorologists said, however, that more X-class flares are possible until Wednesday.
“The public should not be concerned, but may want to stay informed by visiting our webpage for any forecast changes and updates,” NOAA said Saturday, saying a moderate geomagnetic storm was possible. On Sunday afternoon, however, the agency warned of a “strong storm which could potentially impact technology – and eventually extend the northern lights as far south as Alabama.
“The public should not anticipate adverse impacts and no action is necessary, but should stay appropriately informed about the storm’s progression by visiting our website,” NOAA said in its alert, adding that “normally mitigable” issues were also possible. with voltage control. such as “frequent and longer periods of GPS degradation.”
“Infrastructure operators have been notified to take measures to mitigate any potential impacts,” the agency said.
On Monday morning, NOAA said the CME’s impacts “appear to be weakening” but that solar wind speeds — which help drive the event — were still high. The “moderate” storm warning has since been extended. Moderate geomagnetic storms, classified as G2, could potentially impact high-latitude power systems, damage transformers and extend the northern lights to New York and Idaho. It may also require ground flight control to issue corrective actions for guidance.
Li Cohen
