WARNING: Most Severe Solar Storm In 20 Years To Hit Earth TONIGHT

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued an extremely rare geomagnetic storm watch warning on Friday.

A coronal mass ejection from an unusually severe solar storm will impact our planet late Friday evening or early Saturday morning and last several days.

Officials say the storm may disrupt GPS, satellite communication technologies, and radio signals.

Additionally, spectacular auroras are expected to be visible across much of the United States. Here’s what we currently know about the impending solar storm:

The Space Weather Watch issued this cloud forecast to aid interested observers in finding good visibility to watch the auroras:

“We could potentially see the strongest solar storm impact since 2003/2005 as several solar storms launched from several days ago combine before reaching Earth.

Our aurora visibility forecast shows aurora viewing possible north of the red line, with overhead viewing possible in the northern U.S. states.

Closer to but north of the red line, viewing will likely only be possible on the northern horizon and/or with sensitive camera equipment. Locations south of the red line may have a more difficult time seeing aurora.

Clouds look to be best in the central and western portions of the country, and clouds may obscure viewing across the Great Lakes, Mid-Atlantic, and Northeast regions.

As the solar storm is expected to impact Earth in the next few hours, viewing may last all night tonight but will be most favorable during periods of higher geomagnetic activity (when the southward component of the magnetic field is the greatest).”

TONIGHT'S AURORA+CLOUDS FORECAST:
We could potentially see the strongest solar storm impact since 2003/2005 as several solar storms launched from several days ago combine before reaching Earth. Our aurora visibility forecast shows aurora viewing possible north of the red line,… pic.twitter.com/UqwhyRMF8M

— Space Weather Watch (@spacewxwatch) May 10, 2024

NOAA issued this press release advisory:

NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) — a division of the National Weather Service — is monitoring the sun following a series of solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that began on May 8.

Space weather forecasters have issued a Severe (G4) Geomagnetic Storm Watch for the evening of Friday, May 10. Additional solar eruptions could cause geomagnetic storm conditions to persist through the weekend.

A large sunspot cluster has produced several moderate to strong solar flares since Wednesday at 5:00 am ET.

At least five flares were associated with CMEs that appear to be Earth-directed.

SWPC forecasters will monitor NOAA and NASA’s space assets for the onset of a geomagnetic storm.

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CMEs are explosions of plasma and magnetic fields from the sun’s corona.

They cause geomagnetic storms when they are directed at Earth.

Geomagnetic storms can impact infrastructure in near-Earth orbit and on Earth’s surface, potentially disrupting communications, the electric power grid, navigation, radio and satellite operations.

SWPC has notified the operators of these systems so they can take protective action. Geomagnetic storms can also trigger spectacular displays of aurora on Earth.

A severe geomagnetic storm includes the potential for aurora to be seen as far south as Alabama and Northern California.

World famous scientist Bret Weinstein warned his followers: “The risk from space weather is extremely serious and getting worse, with increasing dependence on technology, and a rapidly weakening magnetic field.”

I will be talking with @SunWeatherMan about the gathering #solarstorm, live at 12:30, today. The risk from space weather is extremely serious and getting worse, with increasing dependence on technology, and a rapidly weakening magnetic field. https://t.co/cveoANMRdf

— Bret Weinstein (@BretWeinstein) May 10, 2024

IMPACT: Strong CME has hit the ACE satellite.
Here. We. Go! The train of storms is here. This will be a long duration solar storm. Be ready at sunset for the #NorthernLights in North America. pic.twitter.com/ru2Y6mxqx8

— Nick Stewart (@NStewWX) May 10, 2024

The New York Post relayed this warning from NOAA:

NOAA warns of a wide area blackout of high-frequency radio communications for hours.

The geomagnetic storm could also cause widespread voltage irregularities in power systems which trigger false alarms on security devices, cause drag on low earth orbit satellites preventing them from orienting and cause range errors and a loss-of-lock for GPS systems.