Geomagnetic Storm Tonight But Timing Couldn't Be Worse
Our last G2 moderate storm occurred on March 19-20, 2021 when bright rays and arcs played about the northern sky all night. Bob King UPDATE7:30 p.m. CDT: The storm's arrival time has been revised. A G1 minor storm should be underway from nightfall until around 10 p.m. Central Time, then develop into a G2 moderate storm from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. I sat up in my chair when I saw the NOAA space weather forecast yesterday. Scanning the April 25th column, the number "6" jumped out. The numbers indicate the Kp index, a measure of how rattled Earth's magnetic field becomes when it's hit by a wave of particles from the sun. The index ranges from no disturbance (0) to severe geomagnetic storm (9). The higher the number the greater the chances of seeing the aurora borealis. For the northern regions of the northern states, a Kp of 5 often bodes a minor geomagnetic storm and a modest auroral display low in the northern sky. A Kp of 6 takes us to the moderate or G2 geomagnetic