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Other than the northern lights, do solar storms affect the weather on the earth?
Thanks
Ed C.
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First we must go into what a "solar storm" means. It's not just a cloud with thunder and lightning like we have here on earth.
A solar storm when a gust of solar wind disturbs the earth's magnetosphere. As a flare from the sun ejects, a solar wind shock wave can head toward the earth. The magnetosphere can compress and cause a geomagnetic storm. The region around the earth that is controlled by the magnetic field is the magnetosphere. Usually it helps to deflect away material from the earth.
We can see bright auroras and in extreme cases a geomagnetic storm can mess with electrical currents and have causes power outages before. Satellites can also have problems. The fluctuations in the earth's magnetic field can cause those power outages which leads to big problems.
The aurora will be the most visible thing when there is increased sun activity. The best viewing for those is late at night (midnight) and in a very dark location away from city lights.
Answered by KSL Meteorologist Dina Freedman.
