Los Angeles, Ca
Strong solar storm hits Earth, could disrupt communications and produce northern lights in US
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — An unusually strong solar storm hitting Earth could produce northern lights in the U.S. this weekend and potentially disrupt power and communications.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a rare severe geomagnetic storm warning when a solar outburst reached Earth on Friday afternoon, hours sooner than anticipated. The effects were due to last through the weekend and possibly into next week.
NOAA alerted operators of power plants and spacecraft in orbit to take precautions, as well as the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“For most people here on planet Earth, they won’t have to do anything,” said Rob Steenburgh, a scientist with NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center.
The storm could produce northern lights as far south in the U.S. as Alabama and Northern California, according to NOAA. But it was hard to predict and experts stressed it would not be the dramatic curtains of color normally associated with the northern lights, but more like splashes of greenish hues.
“That’s really the gift from space weather — the aurora,” said Steenburgh. He and his colleagues said the best aurora views may come from phone cameras, which are better at capturing light than the naked eye.
Snap a picture of the sky and “there might be actually a nice little treat there for you,” said Mike Bettwy, operations chief for the prediction center.
The most intense solar storm in recorded history, in 1859, prompted auroras in central America and possibly even Hawaii. “We are not anticipating that” but it could come close, said NOAA space weather forecaster Shawn Dahl.
This storm poses a risk for high-voltage transmission lines for power grids, not the electrical lines ordinarily found in people’s homes, Dahl told reporters. Satellites also could be affected, which in turn could disrupt navigation and communication services here on Earth.
An extreme geomagnetic storm in 2003, for example, took out power in Sweden and damaged power transformers in South Africa.
Even when the storm is over, signals between GPS satellites and ground receivers could be scrambled or lost, according to NOAA. But there are so many navigation satellites that any outages should not last long, Steenburgh noted.
The sun has produced strong solar flares since Wednesday, resulting in at least seven outbursts of plasma. Each eruption — known as a coronal mass ejection — can contain billions of tons of plasma and magnetic field from the sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona.
The flares seem to be associated with a sunspot that’s 16 times the diameter of Earth, according to NOAA. It’s all part of the solar activity that’s ramping up as the sun approaches the peak of its 11-year cycle.
NASA said the storm posed no serious threat to the seven astronauts aboard the International Space Station. The biggest concern is the increased radiation levels, and the crew could move to a better shielded part of the station if necessary, according to Steenburgh.
Increased radiation also could threaten some of NASA’s science satellites. Extremely sensitive instruments will be turned off, if necessary, to avoid damage, said Antti Pulkkinen, director of the space agency’s heliophysics science division.
Several sun-focused spacecraft are monitoring all the action.
“This is exactly the kinds of things we want to observe,” Pulkkinen said.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
A broken water main sent water gushing from an apartment building and turned nearby streets into rivers in West Hollywood early Thursday morning. The break was reported around 3 a.m. near Holloway Drive and Sunset Boulevard. “It’s a rupture of one of the significant mains that goes through here. West Hollywood, as it turns out, […]
After more than four decades, the remains of a woman who was found buried in the mountains of Riverside County were identified as a multi-millionaire who went missing in 1981.
The body of Thelma Gaston was discovered by a person gathering firewood in a mountainous area near Sugar Loaf Mountain and the Pinyon Crest community on Nov. 28, 1981.
After experiencing a series of heartbreaking life events, including the death of her husband and her 32-year-old son in the same year in 1957, Gaston continued forging ahead, focusing on her business of buying repossessed properties and selling them.
By 1980, she had amassed a fortune estimated to be over $20 million, SFGATE reported.
On June 28, 1981, a note was left on the front door of her home near Century City, saying she was out searching for her cat. However, she never returned home and her loved ones did not hear from her.
By then, Gaston was 80 years old. As Los Angeles Police Department detectives investigated her disappearance, they discovered a younger man, Lawrence Remsen, then 39, had recently entered her life and was the woman’s romantic companion, SFGATE reported.
At one point, the woman’s friends said Gaston had wondered about Remsen’s motives in being with her.
Police eventually found letters and documents reportedly signed by Gaston that gave Remsen power of attorney. Another letter allegedly written by the woman claimed she had run away “to have some fun in life.” However, her friends said the move was completely out of character.
Detectives later confirmed the letters were certified with a stolen notary stamp and her signatures were believed to be forged.
Remsen had tried selling some of Gaston’s properties and attempted to withdraw more than $100,000 from her bank accounts. Remsen eventually fled the Southern California area.
A few months later, he was arrested by border agents when he tried to enter the U.S. from Mexico. He was charged with Gaston’s murder even though the woman’s body had not been found.
During a trial hearing, Remsen later claimed he found the woman dead of natural causes in her home and, attempting to take her fortune, had disposed of her body in the ocean.
The judge disagreed and later ruled that Remsen had killed the woman “intentionally and with malice.” He was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.
Gaston’s body was later discovered buried in a shallow grave in the mountains. However, due to the poor condition of the remains, investigators were unable to narrow down an identity.
A breakthrough occurred in 2022 when the Riverside County Sheriff’s Coroner’s Bureau received new funding to reexamine long-standing unidentified cases.
“Combined with significant advances in forensic science, this funding opened new avenues for identification,” the sheriff’s office said.
In May 2026, utilizing investigative genetic genealogy and dental records, the remains were positively identified as Gaston’s.
“The Riverside Sheriff’s Coroner’s Bureau extends its sincere appreciation to everyone whose dedication, expertise, and perseverance made this identification possible,” officials said in a statement. “Together, these efforts have ensured that Ms. Gaston has her name—and her story—returned to her.”
Remsen, who is now 83 years old, continues serving his life sentence at the California Institution for Men in Chino.
Southern California remains under an extreme heat warning as residents brace for the hottest day of the week on Wednesday.
“It will be roasty toasty in the valleys, lower mountain elevations and far interior, with highs ranging from 100 to 110 degrees,” the National Weather Service said. The warmest conditions are expected in the western San Fernando Valley.
An extreme heat warning remains in effect for much of Southern California until 8 p.m. Thursday. Forecasters say there is a high risk of heat-related illness for anyone outdoors for extended periods. Heat advisories are also in place for areas along the coast.
“Highs for today: 98 in Ojai, 100 in Ontario. Temecula, good morning to you, 100 degrees expected there. 112 in Palm Springs. Unbelievably hot,” KTLA’s Kirk Hawkins said Wednesday morning.
Residents are urged to adjust their afternoon plans to limit strenuous outdoor activities during the heat of the day, stay hydrated and check in on elderly neighbors and loved ones.
The Weather Service said record highs are slightly warmer than those forecast for Wednesday. As a result, despite the extremely hot conditions, few, if any, temperature records are expected to be broken.
A few degrees of cooling are expected Thursday, but a more significant cooldown will arrive Friday as onshore winds increase.
Afternoon highs are expected to cool even more over the weekend, with below-average temperatures possible in some areas.
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