Solar storm nears Earth, may disrupt power

WASHINGTON -- The largest solar storm in five years is racing toward Earth, threatening to unleash a torrent of charged particles that could disrupt power grids, GPS and airplane flights.

The sun erupted Tuesday evening, and the effects should start smacking Earth between 1 and 5 a.m. today, according to the federal government's Space Weather Prediction Center.

The storm, which started with a massive solar flare, is growing as it speeds outward from the sun, forecasters said.

It's likely to last through Friday morning, but the region that erupted can send more blasts our way, said Joe Kunches, a scientist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He said another set of active sunspots is ready to aim at Earth right after this.

For now, scientists are waiting to see what happens today, when the charged particles hit Earth at 4 million mph. NASA solar physicist Alex Young added, "It could give us a bit of a jolt." But he said this is far from a super solar storm.

There is potential for widespread problems. Solar storms can disrupt technology on Earth in three ways: with magnetic, radio or radiation emissions. It is unusual that all three types of solar storm disruptions are likely to be strong, Kunches said.

The magnetic part of the storm has the potential to trip electrical power grids. Kunches said utility companies around the world have been alerted. The timing and speed of the storm determines whether it knocks off power grids, he said. In 1989, a strong solar storm knocked out the power grid in Quebec, causing 6 million people to lose power.

Solar storms can also make global positioning systems less accurate, which is mostly a problem for precision drilling and other technologies, Kunches said. There also could be GPS outages.

The storm also can cause communication problems and added radiation around the north and south poles, which will probably force airlines to reroute flights. Some already have done so, Kunches said.

A solar storm creates more noticeable auroras (Northern Lights) in North America, and those will peak this evening. Auroras could dip as far south as the Great Lakes states, Kunches said, but a full moon will make them harder to see.