Sun releases the largest solar radiation storm 'in over 20 years,' forecasters say

ATLANTA — Powerful solar activity released by the sun is heading for Earth, and it's likely to create dazzling auroral displays in unexpected areas Monday evening and early Tuesday morning. It could also disrupt satellite-based communications and GPS accuracy.

A solar radiation storm, ranked at a level four out of five on a severity scale, is being tracked by the National Weather Service's Space Weather Prediction Center.

"An S4 severe solar radiation storm is now in progress — this is the largest solar radiation storm in over 20 years," the center shared on X, formerly known as Twitter. "The last time S4 levels were observed was in October 2003. Potential effects are mainly limited to space launch, aviation, and satellite operations."

The Halloween space weather storms of October 2003 resulted in power outages in Sweden and damage to power transformers in South Africa, according to the center.

When solar radiation storms reach Earth, they can cause increased radiation exposure risks for astronauts in low-Earth orbit, like those aboard the International Space Station, as well as passengers on flights that are traveling polar routes.

The center has notified airlines, NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation and other operators to prepare for the storm.

During increased radiation risk events, astronauts can move to parts of the space station that are better shielded, as they have during previous solar storms, like an extreme geomagnetic storm that occurred in May 2024.

Heightened radiation can also pose risks to satellite people rely on for communications and navigation.

During the May 2024 geomagnetic storm, tractor company John Deere reported that some customers reliant on GPS for precision farming experienced a disruption. But for the most part, power grid and satellite operators kept satellites in order and properly in orbit and managed the buildup of intense geomagnetic currents on the grid systems.

Anticipating auroras

The center has also forecasted a severe geomagnetic storm heading for Earth. Such storms also have the ability to disrupt the electric power grid, according to the Space Weather Prediction Center.

While a solar radiation storm marks the release of intense, rapidly-moving charged particles toward Earth, slower-moving geomagnetic storms are caused by a coronal mass ejection, or explosions of plasma and magnetic fields from the sun's outer atmosphere.

When these outbursts are directed at Earth, they can cause major disturbances of Earth's magnetic field, resulting in geomagnetic storms.

The coronal mass ejection launched from the sun on Sunday, triggered by an X-class flare, the most intense type of solar flare.

Increased solar activity causes auroras that dance around Earth's poles, known as the northern lights, or aurora borealis, and southern lights, or aurora australis. When the energized particles from coronal mass ejections reach Earth's magnetic field, they interact with gases in the atmosphere to create different colored lights in the sky.

Auroras may be visible over much of the northern half of the U.S., and potentially as far south as Alabama and northern California, according to the center.

Parts of the Midwest, including much of Minnesota, will have clear skies for aurora viewing, said CNN Meteorologist Chris Dolce.

"Clouds might clear enough by tomorrow early a.m. over northern Illinois and Wisconsin to possibly see, too," Dolce said. "The Pacific Northwest might have decent conditions west of the Cascades. The Northeast is a mix. The interior looks pretty cloudy, but conditions closer to the coast, it might clear out enough to make visible late tonight and early tomorrow."

Even if the colorful displays don't seem apparent to the naked eye, sensors in cameras, including cellphone cameras, can pick them up.

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