Severe geomagnetic storm likely to hit US.

The geomagnetic storm is caused by solar flares. Solar flares are bursts of energy on the sun’s surface that releases large amount of charged particles. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric  Administration (NOAA) says that a coronal mass ejection has occurred this year. They would hit Earth’s surface on Thursday.

The storm would bring with itself a chance for a rare and stunning Aurora Borealis display on the Northern Hemisphere. The Administration says that the storm ranks second on the scale of five and is expected to become even more aggressive on Thursday and Friday. As a result, Northern lights may be visible in regions far beyond their usual range.

The last such storm occurred in May, first ever happened after 2005. The storm was powerful enough to disrupt the GPS services, electrical grid disturbances and affected economic activities. In May, aurorae were observed in several parts of the world, including Japan, due to the impact of solar flares.

NOAA said, “At these levels, aurora may be seen directly overhead from the Northern states.” The agency also highlighted that the Kp index of the storm is 8 , indicating very bright and active auroras. Solar activity changes in 11-year cycles, and has been sharply increasing this year.

Shawn Dahl, service coordinator for the SWPC in a conference held on Wednesday said, “If you think of two magnets and they have same polarity, and you try to put them together, they repel. If they’re opposite, they connect, and the magnets will stay together. If the magnetic field of coronal mass ejection is same as the Earth’s, we will have an initial impact in effect and immediate enhancement in geomagnetic response, but we probably will not reach those severe levels or potentially higher.

He also added, “If it’s favourably connected as it comes through or changes into that configuration throughout it’s passage, then we will escalate it’s responses. That’s where the true potential will come in, and we can issue our warnings and subsequent alerts as we reach those levels of activity.”