Beware of Solar Storms: Potential Dangers and Impacts on Earth

A minor G1-class geomagnetic storm caused by a coronal mass ejection (CME) triggered by magnetic filaments on the Sun is expected to hit Earth today, April 20, with weak aurora displays and minor fluctuations in GPS and shortwave wireless communications. However, a bigger threat of a much denser CME cloud with an intensity of G2-class to G3-class geomagnetic storm is expected to follow. Such storms can damage small satellites, impact mobile networks, GPS, and even pose a threat to ground-based electronics and power grids by increasing the magnetic potential by huge amounts. NOAA monitors the Sun through its DSCOVR satellite, which tracks different measurements of the Sun and its atmosphere.