5 things you need to know about the geomagnetic storm hitting Earth tonight
The strongest geomagnetic storm in over a decade is expected to reach Earth tonight, potentially disrupting power grids and creating dazzling auroras visible as far south as Alabama.
- This storm is a G4-level event, meaning it could cause widespread voltage control problems, trigger false alarms on security systems, and knock out high-frequency radio communication for hours.
- The most stunning effect is the Northern Lights; forecasters predict the aurora may be visible from New York City to Chicago to Portland, and for the first time in years, even from parts of California and Texas.
- To see the lights, find a dark spot away from city lights, look north after midnight, and use your smartphone camera—it often picks up colors invisible to the naked eye.
- Charge your devices and have flashlights ready; while the power grid is built to handle these storms, localized outages have happened before during severe events.
- NASA and NOAA satellites are tracking the storm's arrival—it's moving at nearly 1.5 million miles per hour, so expect impacts to begin around 8 p.m. local time tonight.