The strongest solar flare in seven years could cause communications blackouts on Earth

The sun unleashed the most powerful solar flare in seven years on Thursday, and space weather researchers are watching what impact this event has on Earth, including the display of the Northern Lights and impacts on the power grid, radio communications and GPS.

NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) said the X9.0 flare was seen from the Sun on Thursday morning. An X-Flare is the most intense and the number indicates its strength. While the sun often produces such bursts of energy, eruptions of this magnitude are unusual.

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The X9.0 burst replaces the strongest solar cycle 25 burst to date, which was an X8.7 burst on May 14. According to Space Weather Watch, Thursday's outbreak is the 15th strongest on record.

At least two coronal mass ejections related to the recent flare activity are heading toward Earth and are expected to arrive in the next three days.

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of an X9.0 solar flare – as seen in the bright flash at the center – on October 3, 2024. The image shows a mixture of 171 angstroms and 131 angstroms of light, subsets of extreme ultraviolet light.

(NASA/SDO)

The Sun is nearing its solar maximum in the solar cycle of 25 to 11 years of activity, marked by a crescendo of sunspots, which can lead to solar flares and more space weather events. Since May, the Sun has produced its three strongest bursts of the cycle, two of which occurred this week.

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The flare's immediate impacts include severe degradation or signal loss for high-frequency communications bands across much of the sunlit side of the Earth. According to SWPC, high-frequency radio signals can cause loss of contact or major disruption for minutes to a few hours.

During solar radiation storms of this magnitude, GPS navigation errors are likely that could impact equipment that relies on GPS, such as tractors, as was the case with farmers during the extreme solar storms in May.

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The SWPC issued a geomagnetic storm warning Thursday through Sunday after the sun sent out an X7.1 solar flare, the third most powerful of the solar cycle, and the newer X9.0 flare.

The SWPC rates solar storms a five-point scalewith five being the most extreme and rare space weather conditions.

Northern lights, cloud cover forecast for Thursday night.
(FOX Weather)

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According to the SWPC, two coronal mass ejections are expected to arrive this weekend. A period of “strong” G3 geomagnetic storms is possible from Friday to Sunday. These conditions could produce the aurora borealis, or northern lights, as far away as Iowa and throughout the Midwest.

With the exception of a few clouds in the northeast, cloud cover is expected to be minimal across much of the Northern Plains Friday evening.

Northern lights, cloud cover forecast for Friday night.
(FOX Weather)

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These stronger geomagnetic storms are less common than G1 or G2 events. However, Earth experienced near-global auroras in May, even as far south as Florida, when an “extreme” (G5) geomagnetic storm occurred due to two sets of extremely active sunspots.

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of an X9.0 solar flare – as seen in the bright flash at the center – on October 3, 2024. The image shows a mixture of 171 angstroms and 131 angstroms of light, subsets of extreme ultraviolet light.

(NASA/SDO)

As for the new, more powerful flare, space weather researchers told FOX Weather that it is “very likely” to have Earth-directed components.

Two coronal mass ejections are expected to arrive in the next three days and the current geomagnetic storm watch could be extended or upgraded to a warning.

If the SWPC predicts a severe geomagnetic storm (G4), the Northern Lights could be visible as far away as the Carolinas.

Stay with FOX Weather for the latest space weather forecasts and updates on this developing story.