A solar storm could produce northern lights in US

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — An unusually robust photo voltaic storm headed towards Earth might produce northern lights within the U.S. and probably disrupt communications this weekend.

The Nationwide Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a uncommon geomagnetic storm watch — the primary in almost 20 years. The watch begins Friday and lasts all weekend.

NOAA stated the solar produced robust photo voltaic flares starting Wednesday, leading to 5 outbursts of plasma able to disrupting satellites in orbit and energy grids right here on Earth. Every eruption — referred to as a coronal mass ejection — can comprise billions of tons of photo voltaic plasma.

NOAA is asking this an uncommon occasion, mentioning that the flares appear to be related to a sunspot that’s 16 occasions the diameter of Earth. An excessive geomagnetic storm in 2003 took out energy in Sweden and broken energy transformers in South Africa.

The newest storm might produce northern lights as far south within the U.S. as Alabama and Northern California, in keeping with NOAA.

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