Solar Radiation Storm Slams Earth, Generating Auroras and Threatening Satellites
Hopefully the impacts will be minimal, and notable only for the stream of spectacular aurora images that will be streaming on social media.
This year’s Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday included spectacular fireworks: a solar radiation storm of historic levels.
A solar radiation storm, ranked at a level four out of five on a severity scale, is being tracked by the National Weather Service’s Space Weather Prediction Center, or SWPC.
“An S4 severe solar radiation storm is now in progress – this is the largest solar radiation storm in over 20 years,” SWPC shared on X, formerly known as Twitter. “The last time S4 levels were observed was in October, 2003. Potential effects are mainly limited to space launch, aviation, and satellite operations.”
The Halloween space weather storms of October 2003 resulted in power outages in Sweden and damages to power transformers in South Africa, according to SWPC.
An S4 severe solar radiation storm is now in progress – this is the largest solar radiation storm in over 20 years. The last time S4 levels were observed was in October, 2003. Potential effects are mainly limited to space launch, aviation, and satellite operations. pic.twitter.com/kCjHj4XYzB
— NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center (@NWSSWPC) January 19, 2026
Some aurora color on camera from Shenandoah National Park, Virginia.
7:20pm. Not naked eye visible. pic.twitter.com/INcJxsuWlV
— Peter Forister 🍁🍂🍁 (@forecaster25) January 20, 2026
NORTHERN LIGHTS ARE OUT!!!! This is from Ben Hur, Arkansas from Stephen Downum #northernlights #aurora pic.twitter.com/D2mDN611Rh
— Todd Yakoubian (@ToddYakoubian) January 20, 2026
INCREDIBLE NORTHERN LIGHTS are visible in Illinois right now! 🤩
📷 Carmen Palermo pic.twitter.com/aL5rCwKkN6
— Max Velocity (@MaxVelocityWX) January 20, 2026
During a severe solar storm, the Sun blasts clouds of tiny, fast‑moving charged particles out into space, and some of them slam into Earth’s magnetic field. These particles then race along the magnetic field lines toward the polar regions, where they can dive into the upper atmosphere and stir it up. To people on the ground, they are invisible, but they can make the sky glow with bright auroras and quietly disturb the “space weather” around our planet.
A map created by space weather forecasters show where northern lights are predicted to be visible on Monday night given the increased geomagnetic activity. The further north you are, the better chances you have to see the spectacular aurora borealis.
As of the Monday afternoon forecast, the lights were expected to be visible in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, northern Utah, northern Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, northern Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, northern Missouri, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Alaska.
Backyard #Aurora views! Maybe some pillars in there? #pawx @NWSPittsburgh @MaxVelocityWX @RadarOmega pic.twitter.com/8UzRQzhQmv
— PA Storm Trackerz (@PAStormTrackerz) January 19, 2026
Sadly, no Northern Lights for me! pic.twitter.com/axgTWG6X2d
— Leslie Eastman ☥ (@Mutnodjmet) January 20, 2026
In addition to the beauty, there are some significant hazards…especially for electronics in orbit or the upper atmosphere. The extra particles and energy can damage solar panels, scramble computer circuits, and increase drag on low‑orbit satellites so their paths slowly change. For airplanes, especially those on polar routes, the storm can interfere with radio signals and GPS, leading to patchy communications, navigation errors, and slightly higher radiation exposure for crew and passengers on high‑altitude flights.
In the case of an extreme, once-in-a-century solar storm, individual aircraft would not be the only ones affected, but the entire aviation sector, from traffic control to airports. Because of multiple backup systems, aviation safety would not be compromised, but the efficiency of the operation would suffer causing substantial economic losses and personal discomfort to passengers due to delayed and cancelled flights.
Radio bursts from the Sun and changes in the upper atmosphere can provoke large-scale radio blackouts, severely affecting the ability of aircraft and flight control to communicate. Such disturbances would be particularly severe for flights through the polar regions and over the oceans, where alternative communication options might not be available.
A solar storm would also impact the ionosphere, the upper layer of the atmosphere which, when disturbed, can seriously degrade radio communications and satellite navigation signals. Intermittent GNSS failures and positioning errors would take place, forcing aircraft to rely on backup navigation systems, such as gyroscopes and accelerometers, ground-based radio beacons, and paper charts.
Hopefully, the impacts will be minimal, with only the stream of spectacular aurora images on social media being notable.
#Aurora VISIBLE FROM EASTERN MO pic.twitter.com/KuGEzsZmkK
— lucy_wx (@LucyWx24) January 20, 2026
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This explains Da Bears loss to LA.. 🙂
No, da bears still suck!
Go Pack Go!!!
Wait ’till next year…
Oh, wait, that’s Cubs, not Da Bears… 🙂
In New York, Governor Hochul has called an emergency session of the legislature, in hopes of taxing all aurora viewing before it dissipates.
Don’t give her ideas.
They all share ways to steal our money.
https://x.com/greg_price11/status/2013350008733487510
Democrats now control the legislature and Governor’s office in Virginia.
Here are just a few of the bills they’ve introduced
– New 4.3% sales tax on Uber Eats, Amazon, etc deliveries.
– New sales tax on admissions to a wide variety of businesses.
– Create two new higher tax brackets of 8% and 10% on people making over $600K.
– A new 10% tax bracket for anyone making over $1M.
– 3.8% investment tax on top of state income taxes.
– Raise the hotel tax.
– New personal property tax on landscaping equipment.
– Ban gas powered leaf blowers.
– Guarantee illegal aliens free education.
– Make it illegal to approach somebody at an abortion clinic.
– Extend the time absentee ballots can be received after election day to three days
– Allow people to cast their votes electronically through the internet.
– Expand ranked-choice voting.
– Extend the deadline for ballot curing to one week after election day.
– Redact the addresses of political candidates from FOIAs.
– Add Virginia to the National Popular Vote Compact for presidential electors.
– Make it illegal to hand count ballots.
– $500 sales tax on firearm suppressors .
– “Assault weapons” and large capacity magazine ban.
– 11% sales tax on all firearms and ammunition.
– Prohibit outdoor shooting of a firearm on land less than 5 acres.
– Lower the criminal penalties for robbery.
– Ban the arrest of illegal aliens in courthouses.
– Remove mandatory minimum sentences.
– Allow localities to install speed cameras.
– Replace Columbus Day with “Indigenous Peoples Day.”
– Create two new higher tax brackets of 8% and 10% on people making over $600K.
– A new 10% tax bracket for anyone making over $1M.
I can’t think of two overreaches MORE likely to create immediate voters’ remorse among the elite shitlibs who elected these clowns.
Good.
NO! Do NOT play that game,
Repeal the 16th Amendment!
OMG, I feel sorry for the people in Virginia. They made a major mistake in electing Democrats !
So accelerometers and gyroscopes are backup systems? Anybody remember inertial navigation?
I worked on F-111 integrated avionics in the USAF in the 70s. The INS on the aircraft used spinning mass gyros and accelerometers and was extremely accurate with that 1960s level of technology. The upgrade to ring laser gyros in the 80s made them even more reliable and accurate. I can’t even imagine the capabilities of the technology in the 2020s.
There’s nothing wrong with using inertial nav. We’ve been spoiled by putting all our navigational eggs in the GPS basket.
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Not spoiled. It’s dangerous. In the coming war with China I would expect them to attempt to take out our GPS satellites.
What bothers me most about that is how few people under the age of 50 know how to use a paper map. Does Rand-McNally still publish their road atlas? I hope so.
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I should have looked first.
https://randpublishing.com/road-atlases
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Yep. When traveling through the mountains or wide open areas like Wyoming, the wife and I like to have a backup paper map. Still didn’t help us when we were in Sheep Creek Loop in Utah. Beautiful place. Zero internet. Teeny mark on the map.
yep, and not just 50 and under. My best friends, who are 50+ have fully embraced app life and TOTALLY depend on their phones for everything. Sad.
I still go to maps First and have only used phone GPS once or twice – and it took me on nonsensical routes compared to the maps both times.
AAA used to have tons of maps. I’d get them for planning trips. Don’t know if they still have them. I’m no longer a member.
I carry a commercial Rand in every vehicle I own. Although I have very good GPS units they can break. If you use a cellphone and Google Maps you can go places with no cell signal. A paper atlas always works.
I looked for them last week and most were vacation travel guides, not detailed local maps. I miss having a good road atlas under my seat. I can get a better sense of an area with a paper map than I ever could with the GPS in my car.
Let’s be honest here. This is all Trump’s fault! Right democrats.
You forgot the other two causes of all Earth’s problems:
1. Racism
2. Climate Change
Colonization
Misogyny
White Supremacy
Jews!!!!!
Uh oh, My switch is flipped.
all I know is is that the left will use this against us
“this is the largest solar radiation storm in over 20 years”
Really? Because we got aurora activity in October of 2024 all the way down here in Arizona (barely naked-eye visible but superb on camera, a bucket-list experience for our entire family), and I don’t see anybody forecasting that this time around.
The aurora was visible in northern New Mexico last night.
Nice GD graphic but you forgot the 13-point lightning bolt… 🙂
No issues at all with comms or the radar at the site I work at in northern California.
High winds from cold fronts have caused trees to touch power lines and caused power outages in my neighborhood in Florida.
Where is global warming when you need it?