A severe geomagnetic storm forecast through Friday could light up the night sky over much of the northern half of the country, bringing with it disruptions to the power grid, GPS and radio blackouts, and impacted satellites, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
This is especially worrisome as it comes a day after Hurricane Milton is forecast to hit southwest Florida, which is likely to knock out power, affect cell service, and impact other telecommunications necessary for recovery efforts.
NOAA warned that the G4 storm (4 out of 5 on NOAA’s scale) could create widespread voltage-control problems, and that spacecraft could experience tracking problems and satellite navigation could be degraded for hours.
Meanwhile, NYC Emergency Management said a power outage is unlikely, but possible for New York.
NOAA also predicted the aurora borealis, or northern lights, could be visible in the northernmost U.S. states such as northern Michigan and Maine and as far south as Alabama and California on Thursday, possibly into Friday.
If this sounds familiar, you’re right: Over the weekend, a strong G3 solar storm caused a full display of dazzling aurora for millions of Americans throughout the northern Midwest and into Oregon.
A geomagnetic storm occurs when a coronal mass ejection, an eruption of solar material and magnetic fields, reaches Earth.
You can track the aurora on NOAA’s page, where the agency is providing updates.