The National Weather Service (NWS) sent out a major warning late Wednesday about a series of significant solar storms set to start Thursday night.
We warned readers back in June a series of chaotic and potentially catastrophic solar storms and other activity would start before the end of 2023. And they just arrived, according to the NWS. A series of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) — explosive jets of solar wind and plasma — started on Nov. 27 and 28, prompting NASA and other space agencies to issue a Geomagnetic Storm watch starting 7 p.m. EST on Thursday.
NWS currently hopes the storm will only reach a G3 on the scale, which goes from G1 (minor) to G5 (extreme). G3 is a “strong” storm, which can impact satellite navigation and low-frequency radio, and may increase drag on low-Earth orbit satellites. Some devices may also be triggered by the storm, but let’s hope it doesn’t get any bigger.
Following several coronal mass ejections (CMEs) on Nov. 27 and 28, a Watch has been issued for a strong Geomagnetic Storm (G3) beginning 00 UTC Fri (7pm EST Thu). Auroras may be visible as far south as Illinois & Oregon Thursday night/early Friday morning. https://t.co/SqhAvUex6e pic.twitter.com/EijmICsU0e
— National Weather Service (@NWS) November 29, 2023
Storms of G4 or higher have the potential to reset the entire technological infrastructure of the world. And they’ve done so before.
New data suggests our last ice age may have come to an end after tens of millions of years because of a horrifying solar storm. Back in 1859, a big solar storm destroyed telegraph equipment and communications across the globe, literally frying the wires so the entire system had to be rebuilt in many places. (RELATED: Scream About ‘Ancient Apocalypse’ At Your Own Peril, Illiberal Idiots)
Scientists already warned the impending storm could influence the migratory patterns of birds. But while this could upset some global ecosystems, it definitely wouldn’t be as immediate and devastating as G5.