World told to brace for ‘severe geomagnetic storm’ TOMORROW that could bring chaos to
Earth is set to be hit by a powerful surge of charged particles from the sun beginning on Wednesday.
Officials issued an alert today around 12pm ET, warning that the incoming solar activity could trigger a severe geomagnetic storm, reaching the G4 level on NOAA’s scale.
G4 is the second-highest classification, capable of causing widespread technological impacts, and the alert noted the possibility that levels could be even higher.
The US Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) said some electrical grid systems may temporarily shut down, spacecraft could experience increased drag or surface charging, and high-frequency radio signals may be spotty or blackout for hours.
The strongest effects are expected at high latitudes, including much of Canada, Alaska, northern Europe, Scandinavia and parts of Russia.
However, auroras, satellite issues, and power disruptions could extend to mid-latitude regions such as the northern United States and central Europe.
‘Detrimental impacts to some of our critical technology are possible, but mitigation is possible,’ SWPC said. ‘ The general public should visit our webpage to keep properly informed.’
The storm warnings, ranging from moderate to severe over the next few days, are caused by coronal mass ejections (CMEs), massive bursts of solar plasma and magnetic fields that erupted from the sun starting on November 9.
Officials issued an alert today around 12pm ET, warning that the incoming solar activity could trigger a severe geomagnetic storm, reaching the G4 level on NOAA’s scale (STOCK)
The SWPC’s list of watches includes a moderate G2 for today, followed by a G4 on Wednesday and a strong G3 is expected for Thursday.
The two powerful CMEs racing toward Earth are not ordinary solar eruptions, but are known as ‘Cannibal CMEs.’
These happen when a faster-moving ejection from the sun overtakes an earlier one, merging into a massive shock wave that can supercharge geomagnetic storms once it collides with Earth’s magnetic field.
‘This is making for a very complicated and difficult forecast, and SWPC forecasters are hard at it this Veteran’s Day, sorting together to create an updated forecast,’ SWPC said.
The solar flare that erupted early Tuesday was identified as the largest in 2025.
The flare caused a radio blackout across Europe and Africa around 5am ET, briefly affecting aviation, maritime, emergency, GPS, radar and satellite communications.
Space scientist Steph Yardley described the solar activity as ‘not very common,’ noting these extremely energetic particles from the sun are so strong that ground-based detectors can pick them up.
‘There have been 75 recorded since 1942,’ she posted on X.
This is a developing story… More updates to come.