A severe geomagnetic storm is hitting Earth, and these are its expected effects.

Arab Weather - On Tuesday morning (November 11, 2025), the sun witnessed a massive solar flare of category X5.1, the strongest solar flare of the year and the most intense since October 2024.

The flare occurred in sunspot AR4274 and peaked at 5 a.m. EDT (10:00 GMT). The flare caused strong R3-level radio outages in Africa and Europe, affecting high-frequency radio communications on the sunlit side of Earth.

The eruption also triggered a coronal mass ejection that severely impacted Earth's magnetosphere, reaching a Kp index of 8, in one of the most intense solar storms of the current solar cycle. To clarify, the Kp index ranges from 0 to 9, with values of Kp5 and above indicating a geomagnetic storm. A value of 8 is roughly equivalent to a G4 – severe – category on the NOAA scale, signifying a very intense geomagnetic storm.

Expected impacts include:

• Widespread problems in electrical power systems.
• Disruption in low-frequency radio navigation systems such as GPS and HF shortwave radio.
• Effects on satellites, including increased cloud cover on satellites in low Earth orbit.

The aurora borealis is appearing in unusual areas, particularly in the United States.

The aurora borealis has appeared at unusually low altitudes, reaching unusual areas in the Northern Hemisphere, including the US state of Florida. Sunspot AR4274 has also released X1.7 and X1.2 class flares over the past few days, accompanied by coronal mass emission that may combine with the current emission, potentially increasing the storm's intensity and causing its effects to continue on Earth during the coming night.

Incredible aurora borealis photos from across USA tonight. pic.twitter.com/uu9j85TVw9

- Owen Shroyer (@OwenShroyer1776) November 12, 2025

Decided to pull my good camera out and do the thing!

This by far is the first time in my life I've seen such a bright and vivid aurora borealis. It's like looking into a portal to another dimension

Bucket list item checked off I guess! pic.twitter.com/cCNq8bgB9W

- (@wulfsige79) November 12, 2025