‘Extreme’ solar storm heading straight for Earth following ‘giant magnetic explosion’ on the Sun

A "strong" solar flare that launched off the sun Wednesday afternoon could cause some fluctuations in Earth's power grid and slight disturbances in satellites and radio transmissions on Friday and Saturday. Major disruptions are not expected, even though the flare was classified as an "X-class" flare, which is at the high end of the solar flare scale. Wednesday's flare followed a weaker flare late Monday. "We expect geomagnetic storm levels in the G2 (moderate) and G3 (strong) range," said Bill Murtagh, space weather forecaster for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

"There's been a giant magnetic explosion on the sun," Berger said. "Because it's pointed right at us, we'll at least catch some of the cloud" of highly energized and magnetized plasma that can disrupt Earth's magnetic sphere, which sometimes leads to temporary power grid problems, Berger nonetheless added that the worst effects of the storm are likely to narrowly miss Earth, passing over the North Pole. It could still cause disturbances in satellite and radio transmissions, though, and will have a significant impact on Earth’s magnetic field. While a warning has been issued, Berger said “we’re not scared of this one”, and issued a reminder that solar storms don’t directly harm people.