The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced in its latest warning that a powerful geomagnetic storm that could make the aurora visible across much of the United States has been upgraded to Level 5.
According to the federal agency, “extreme” G5 conditions reached Earth from the Sun shortly before 7 p.m. Friday night. This is the first geomagnetic storm of this size since Halloween in 2003.
The storm caused power outages in Sweden and damaged transformers in South Africa, NOAA said.
According to NOAA’s storm scale, a G5 geomagnetic storm could cause “extensive voltage control issues and protection system issues, and some power grid systems could experience complete collapse or power outages.” “There is.”
A Level 6 K index is expected through Saturday evening, meaning the storm could impact power grids north of 55 degrees latitude, north of the continental United States.
GPS systems, satellite navigation, and other technologies may also be affected.
According to the bureau, the K scale “quantifies geomagnetic disturbances as an integer ranging from 0 to 9, with 1 indicating calm and 5 or higher indicating a magnetic storm.”
“We are monitoring the potential impacts of the geomagnetic storm, which will continue into Monday morning,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement.
“State officials are coordinating with industry stakeholders and the federal government. There are no reported impacts to the power grid or wireless communications,” she added.
This rare phenomenon makes the aurora borealis visible as far as southern Alabama.
Visibility will be best around midnight, but will largely depend on cloud cover and light population, making it impossible for Big Apple residents to see the light show, said Fox News meteorologist Samantha Thomas. told the Post.
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