Aurora set to give a big show Sunday night

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – A extreme geomagnetic storm is going on within the Earth’s higher ambiance Sunday evening.

NOAA’s Area Climate Prediction Middle issued a geomagnetic storm warning early Sunday afternoon ensuing from a average photo voltaic flare, or coronal mass ejection, coming off the solar 2 days in the past. This imply there’s a very excessive likelihood of seeing widespread aurora into the primary a part of the in a single day hours.

Scientists with NOAA’s SWPC, who classify this storm as extreme, or a stage 4 on a one to 5 scale, have been working intently with these within the vitality and know-how sectors to attenuate any disruptions to something digital right here on the bottom.

“Individuals who depend on international positioning techniques or World Navigation Satellite tv for pc Companies GNSS might expertise difficulties with Positioning and Navigation, notably within the rural zones,” the lead forecaster of the Area Climate Prediction Middle Robert Steenburgh stated.

Steenburgh additionally famous that these utilizing radio communications from three to 30 megahertz shall be experiencing some interference the place aurora are current.

The extent of exercise might rival that of March twenty fourth, precisely one month in the past, because the northern two-thirds of the decrease 48 from New England to the Northern plains to the Pacific Northwest stand greater than a ten% probability of aurora exercise tonight.

For us right here in Alaska, the present KP index may be very excessive, at 7, normally we stand probability with a 3 to a 4, so like one month in the past, aurora over the state ought to be lighting up the evening sky.

With Arctic excessive strain dominating a lot of the state, it ought to be offering a principally clear sky to see this cosmic spectacle.

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