Earlier in the week on Tuesday night, the sun emitted a solar flare, rapidly prompting a coronal mass ejection (CME), a large burst of plasma and electric waves.
The agency predicts that the storm is potentially hitting the Earth as early as this morning or midday. This current CME is considered to be “severe” and a four out of 5 on NOAA’s geomagnetic storm scale.
And, while it looks like a bulk of the country — and just about all of Canada — may be in for incredibly stunning views, there are risks associated with this space weather as well.
“Detrimental impacts to some of our critical infrastructure technology are possible,” warns NOAA.
The New York City Office of Emergency Management also advised that the storm could bring on some local headaches, too.
While “unlikely,” the department cautioned that satellites could show “increased inconsistencies” and that “more and longer periods in reduction of GPS” may also occur.
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.