Solar Storm Hits Earth (NYT)

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

Delivered-To: dfarber+ () ux13 sp cs cmu edu
Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2003 15:26:03 -0500
From: Tim O'Connor <tim () roughdraft org>

Dave:  This is probably going to sound like The War of the
Worlds....

While I've been working in New York City today, the UPS under
my desk has been going bananas with the kinds of alarms usually
seen when the power supply is erratic or dirty.  I couldn't
find anyone who knew of problems with Con Ed (our power
supplier) -- then I came upon the NYT AP article below.  It
instantly reminded me of the forecast one or two days ago of
a solar storm.

I can't help wondering if any other IPers have had odd power
performance today.  It sure seems to be an odd confluence.
(Gee, I really hope I don't sound like a wacko.)

--tim o'connor



(head of story follows:)

Solar Storm Hits Earth

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: October 29, 2003

(CAPTION: A spectacular eruption on the surface of the Sun on
Tuesday sent charged particles hurtling toward Earth, and
scientists said the cloud could significantly disrupt communications
on Earth and may even hamper firefighting efforts in California.)

Filed at 12:43 p.m. ET

DENVER (AP) -- The most powerful geomagnetic storm possible hit Earth
early Wednesday, threatening power outages, disrupting airlines
communications and damaging some satellites.

Space weather forecasters at a federal laboratory in Boulder said the
first pulse of highly charged particles from the sun collided with
Earth's magnetic field at 1 a.m. EST, about 12 hours earlier than
predicted.

The storm is rated a G5, the highest intensity on scientists' scale of
space weather.

The last time a G5 storm hit Earth was in 1989, researchers said, which
damaged the power grid and caused electrical blackouts in Canada's
Quebec province.

``It is extremely rare to get this level of geomagnetic storming,'' said
Larry Combs, forecaster for the Space Weather Center at the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Boulder. ``This is one of the
strongest storms that we have received during this cycle.''

There were few immediate reports of damage related to the geomagnetic
storm.

However, Combs said, ``We know that our power grids are definitely
feeling the effects of this.''

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