The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has issued a severe geomagnetic storm warning from a solar outburst due to reach Earth this afternoon, possibly disrupting power, radio and television. The good news is it should make for northern lights visible as far south as Alabama. The bad news is they won’t be the dramatic curtains of color normally associated with the northern lights, but more like splashes of green.
This storm — ranked 4 on a scale of 1 to 5 — poses a risk for high-voltage transmission lines for power grids, not the electrical lines ordinarily found in people’s homes, Dahl told reporters. Satellites also could be affected, which in turn could disrupt navigation and communication services here on Earth.
The effects of the storm are expected to last into next week.