NOAA Issues Geomagnetic Storm Watch After X1.9 Flare

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center issued a geomagnetic storm watch on Wednesday for moderate to strong activity expected through Thursday, triggered by a powerful solar flare that erupted from the sun on November 30. The event, classified as an X1.9 flare, originated from a newly emerging sunspot region and sent a coronal mass ejection racing toward Earth at nearly 1.4 million miles per hour.

The flare peaked at 9:49 p.m. Eastern Time, according to NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, which continuously monitors solar activity. Such X-class flares represent the most intense category, releasing bursts of radiation and charged particles that can interact with Earth's magnetic field. The accompanying coronal mass ejection, a massive expulsion of solar material and magnetic fields, is forecast to deliver a glancing blow to the planet, potentially sparking a G2-level geomagnetic storm. Officials noted some uncertainty in the timing, with impacts possibly arriving as early as Wednesday or shifting to Thursday if the ejection is delayed.

Geomagnetic storms occur when solar particles collide with Earth's magnetosphere, the protective...