Earth hit by ‘severe’ solar storm

‘Severe’ solar storm arrived at Earth on Thursday and may disturb ongoing recovery efforts for hurricanes Helene and Milton, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said.

The coronal mass ejection (CME) erupted from the sun on Tuesday evening and reached Earth at 11:15 a.m. on Thursday. The CME travelled to Earth at nearly 1.5 million miles per hour (2.4 million kilometers per hour), according to NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC).

The SWPC has issued multiple warnings and alerts for geomagnetic storm conditions.

The storm could impact recovery efforts for hurricanes Helene and Milton by causing communication disruptions, stressing power grids, and degrading GPS services, according to NOAA.

Under clear skies, the aurora may be visible as far south as Alabama and northern California on Thursday night.

CMEs are explosions of plasma and magnetic fields from the sun’s corona. When directed at Earth, they cause geomagnetic storms.

Read more: Cellular phones, power grids at risk as solar storm surrounds Earth

In May, the planet went through the most powerful geomagnetic storms recorded in 20 years. They caused auroras to light up the night sky in the United States, Europe, and Australia, at much lower latitudes than usual.

This type of event has increased recently because the Sun is currently close to its peak activity, as per its 11-year cycle.

Such intense geomagnetic activity can cause other, less savory effects.

Communications signals that must pass through the upper atmosphere are subject to distortion and can become unreliable. This includes GPS and many global systems used for shipping.

The charged particles and high energy levels can damage satellites themselves. With warning, many satellites can be put into standby modes; without it, strong enough solar weather can be devastating.