Normally I don't comment on these because they typically never amount to anything worthy of note. Nevertheless, on October 1, 2024, the Sun released a X7.1 flare--the second most powerful flare observed during the current solar cycle. "Radiation from Tuesday's supercharged flare bypassed Earth's magnetic shield, or magnetosphere," says LiveScience, "and ionized the upper parts of the upper atmosphere, creating a temporary radio blackout above large parts of the Pacific Ocean, including Hawaii." The flare was accompanied by a coronal mass ejection (CME) that is expected to strike the Earth on October 5 (although other sources say late afternoon on October 4). "When the CME hits our planet," LiveScience continues, "it will likely trigger a disturbance in the magnetosphere, known as a geomagnetic storm, that enables solar particles to penetrate deep into the atmosphere and trigger vibrant aurora displays at unusually low latitudes." It is predicted that the geomagnetic storm will be a G3 class storm.
A G3 geomagnetic storm can have some impact on power systems: "voltage corrections may be required, false alarms triggered on some protection devices." Other impacts include "intermittent satellite navigation and low-frequency radio navigation problems may occur, HF radio may be intermittent, and aurora has been seen at 50° geomagnetic latitude". As to the latter point, this storm may produce auroras as far south as Oregon and Illinois.
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