Solar Flare Could Have Effects on Earth

The largest solar storm since 2006 could have effects on Earth, according to media reports.

A giant blast of plasma spat from the sun at as much as 4 million miles per hour Tuesday. “Super Tuesday? You bet!” joked Joseph Kunches, a space weather scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), according to Fox News.

Solar activity has already led to an R3 level radio blackout on NOAA’s space weather scale, he explained. Larger effects will hit the planet over the next 24 hours. “Power grid operators have all been alerted," Kunches said.

Geomagnetic storms -- disturbances in the geomagnetic field that surrounds the planet -- should hit the G3 level, midway up the scale. That could lead to surges in power lines (a major problem for power companies) and issues with satellites.

“Power grid operators have all been alerted, as well as the regulatory agencies that all pay attention to this,” Kunches said.