NOAA Issues a 'Severe' Solar Storm Alert, Auroras Expected at Lower Latitudes
At 9:46 AM Eastern Daylight Time on June 1, 2025, instruments registered a geomagnetic K-index of 8, creeping toward 9 - a level rarely reached outside the most intense solar episodes.
Such readings signal strong electric currents racing through Earth's magnetic shield - the first sign that a severe solar storm disturbance has arrived.
Power operators, satellite controllers, and frequent flyers have good reason to pay attention. The disturbance is expected to last through at least June 3, bringing elevated radiation, intermittent radio dropouts, and a possible encore of the dazzling aurora that spilled far south earlier this spring.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center classifies the ongoing episode as G4, the second-highest rung on its five-step geomagnetic scale.
A glance at the agency's three-day outlook shows just how busy the next 48 hours could become: the greatest expected three-hour Kp for June 1-3 averages 7.67, with individual windows pushing well into G4 territory.
Forecasters concede there is a chance - though a small one - that conditions might briefly spike to G5, the extreme category reserved for once-in-a-decade storms.
[...] One of the perks of a strong storm is an expanded auroral oval. Forecasts hint that curtains of green and red could wander as far south as Alabama and northern California tonight and tomorrow night, weather permitting.
For many Americans, that means simply stepping outside after dark could reveal rippling colors usually reserved for Arctic latitudes.
The best views often come after local midnight, when Earth's night side lines up with the prevailing solar-wind flow.
Some sites of interest:
NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center
UAF Geophysical Institute Aurora Forecast
Aurora Labs Norway
Space Weather Live
Related: The Sun is Producing Strong Solar Flares; Are There More Than Expected During This Solar Cycle?
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