G3 – Strong geomagnetic storm in progress
Image credit: NASA/ESA LASCO C2 and C3, Helioviewer, The Watchers
A coronal mass ejection (CME) produced by a long-duration M8.2 solar flare at 07:09 UTC on August 1, 2024, reached Earth early on August 4, causing G3 – Strong geomagnetic storming.
Solar wind parameters reflected a slight enhancement in the IMF after about 05:30 UTC. The geomagnetic K-index of 4 threshold was reached at 05:59 UTC, followed by a K-index of 5 (G1 – Minor geomagnetic storm) at 06:05 UTC.
This activity continued at varying (<G2) levels until 14:01 UTC when the G2 – Moderate geomagnetic storm threshold was reached.
The geomagnetic K-index of 7 (G3 – Strong geomagnetic storm) was reached at 15:02 UTC.
The area of impact is primarily poleward of 50 degrees Geomagnetic Latitude. Potential impacts include induced currents that could cause power system voltage irregularities, with some protection devices possibly triggering false alarms. Spacecraft systems may experience surface charging, increased drag on low Earth-orbit satellites, and orientation problems. Intermittent satellite navigation (GPS) issues, including loss-of-lock and increased range error, are also expected. High-frequency (HF) radio communications may be intermittent. The aurora might be visible as far south as Pennsylvania, Iowa, and Oregon.
“Infrastructure operators have been notified to mitigate any possible impacts,” SWPC forecasters said at 15:22 UTC today.
Waning CME influences are expected on August 5, followed by a return to background conditions on August 6.
I'm a dedicated researcher, journalist, and editor at The Watchers. With over 20 years of experience in the media industry, I specialize in hard science news, focusing on extreme weather, seismic and volcanic activity, space weather, and astronomy, including near-Earth objects and planetary defense strategies. You can reach me at teo /at/ watchers.news.
Yes, let us not leave out the physical factors on the human body, and the mind, that these storms can cause. Particularly on the biosensitive people. The more you know….
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6739933/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10105029/