Not THAT JC ( The other one )<\/p>\n
NBC Chicago ran a toasty space-weather story yesterday headlined, \u201cFirst \u2018severe geomagnetic storm watch\u2019 issued in nearly 20 years. Here\u2019s what it could mean.\u201d The sub-headline added, \u201cThe storm could cause enhanced viewing opportunities for the Northern Lights in the U.S., but could also have impacts on radio communications, GPS satellites and more.\u201d<\/p>\n
https:\/\/www.nbcchicago.com\/news\/first-severe-geomagnetic-storm-watch-issued-20-years-heres-what-it-could-mean\/3433412\/?<\/a><\/p>\n There is widespread confusion over exactly what we\u2019re looking at, but everyone agrees it\u2019s highly unusual. Yesterday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which tracks \u2018space weather\u2019, announced that \u201cat least\u201d five significant solar flares \u2014 what one platform described as a \u201cflare train\u201d \u2014 are all heading toward Earth. ETA tonight.<\/p>\n image 4.png So check the sky tonight! Earth weather permitting, you might get a once-in-a-lifetime view without having to don a parka.<\/p>\n As we\u2019ve discussed before here at C&C, the Sun has now reached its 11-year solar maximum. And, as today\u2019s record solar activity suggests, this year\u2019s solar maximum is turning out to be a peak among solar maximums. So it will likely be another scorcher of a summer, and even though it\u2019s really the Sun (aided by undersea volcanoes) heating up the world, you and your gas-guzzling SUV will probably get the blame.<\/p>\n I\u2019m just a lawyer, not a sun scientist, but because today\u2019s space weather is caused by a super-gigantic sunspot group and by daisy-chained solar flares, tonight\u2019s storm might best resemble 1921\u2019s \u201cGreat New York Storm,\u201d which spontaneously set fires in many places and fried several undersea telegraph cables. Given how 2024 is going so far, it wouldn\u2019t surprise me in the least.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Not THAT JC ( The other one ) NBC Chicago ran a toasty space-weather story yesterday headlined, \u201cFirst \u2018severe geomagnetic storm watch\u2019 issued in nearly 20 years. Here\u2019s what it could mean.\u201d The sub-headline added, \u201cThe storm could cause enhanced … Continue reading
\nNOAA has forecast a \u201cG4\u201d level of storm intensity (out of five), and \u201cR3-R5\u201d radio blackouts, a range that including the highest level of potential communication interference. So it\u2019s not \u201cthe big one.\u201d You can\u2019t get a turbo tan. But it still could be pretty dramatic, with cell and internet outages possible, and projected visible auroras as far south as North Carolina.<\/p>\n