Expect 'Strong' Solar Storm Friday

The Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) detected a strong solar flare at 7:18 a.m. CDT on Thursday. The expected geomagnetic storms following the flare could affect navigation systems Thursday and into the weekend. Geomagnetic storms travel slower to the Earth than flares, which reach the Earth at the speed of light.

Thursday's solar flare measured at X9.0 and is the strongest observed during the current solar cycle. Solar Cycle 25 has been highly active. It began in 2020 and is predicted to peak around July 2025. X-class flares are the strongest category of flares reported by the SWPC.

Thursday's R3 flare (on a scale from R1 to R5) is rated as "strong" on the SWPC's Radio Blackout, or R scale. By that scale, an R3 causes wide-area blackouts of high-frequency radio communication or loss of radio contact for about an hour on the sunlit side of Earth beginning from the time of the flare. The flare also affects low-frequency navigation signals. They are degraded for about an hour after the flare erupts.

An expected stream of geomagnetic solar storms is still to come. Geomagnetic storms are rated on a scale of G1 (minor) to G5 (extreme). The SWPC is predicting a G1 storm on Thursday, a G3 storm on Friday and a G2 storm on Saturday.

The expected G1 storm on Thursday should have only a minor impact on satellite-based communication and navigation systems. The predicted G2 storm Saturday would have a moderate impact on radio signals.

SWPC's prediction for a G3 geomagnetic storm on Friday may have a strong impact on communications. A G3 storm can affect power systems, intermittently affect satellite navigation and cause low-frequency radio navigation problems.

With a G3 storm, the aurora may be seen as low as Illinois and Oregon.

For more information, visit the Space Weather Prediction Center website: https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/….

Dan Miller can be reached at dan.miller@dtn.com

Follow him on social platform X @DMillerPF

(c) Copyright 2024 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.