Strong solar flare could bring northern lights as far south as Alabama

A “severe” geomagnetic storm and auroral displays of the northern lights far into the south of the US could occur on Thursday after charged solar particles slammed into Earth, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s space weather prediction center has warned.

The center alerted to the approach of an enormous mass of charged solar particles spewing from the sun, later reporting that the coronal mass ejection hit Earth at 11.15am ET on Thursday. A “severe” G4-class geomagnetic storm remained likely.

The solar flare has been categorized as an X 1.8-class solar flare , which is the strongest type of flare the sun can emit.

The agency said “storms of this magnitude may disrupt power grids, nudge satellites off course, interfere with GPS navigation” and damage critical infrastructure technology.

The agency initially said it would not know the characteristics of the outburst until it reached 1m miles from Earth and its speed and magnetic intensity were measured by satellites.

On Thursday, it confirmed that “the anticipated coronal mass ejection (CME) arrived at Earth at 11:15am EDT at nearly 1.5 million miles per hour.”

According to Noaa, the northern lights “may become visible over much of the northern half of the country, and maybe as far south as Alabama to northern California” on Thursday.

Related: Nasa images show ‘amazing’ solar flare that caused radio interference on Earth

Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – a fast-moving blob of plasma – can cause major disturbances in Earth’s magnetic field. The sun has an 11-year cycle of activity and scientists believe it is nearing a peak when solar flares, CMEs and auroras become more common.

Last year, the space weather prediction center released a “revised prediction” for the current solar cycle, which states that the upcoming solar maximum would arrive sooner than they had previously predicted and be more explosive than they initially forecast.

The sun’s current cycle, Solar Cycle 25, officially began in early 2019 and was predicted to peak next year. But in an updated prediction the agency said “solar activity will increase more quickly and peak at a higher level” and the solar maximum will probably begin between January and October this year.