POWER GRID DOWN!!! Solar flare expected to hit Earth sparking power grid disrupting geomagnetic

Experts were initially unsure what caused the freak geomagnetic event

Scientists were recently left scratching their heads after a “potentially disruptive” solar storm smashed into Earth without warning.

The surprise solar storm hit Earth  and continued throughout most of June 26, according to Spaceweather.com(opens in new tab). Scientists classified it as a G1-class storm, which means it was strong enough to create weak power grid fluctuations, cause minor impacts to satellite operation, disrupt the navigational abilities of some migrating animals, and cause unusually strong auroras. 

The unexpected solar storm coincided with the peak of an extremely rare five-planet alignment, where Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn lined up in the sky in order of their proximity to the sun (which hasn’t happened since 1864). Amateur astronomers in the northern hemisphere were able to capture images of the surprise auroras as they photobombed the neatly aligned planets.

Recent blackouts offer warning for Ohio power grid

During Ohio’s recent storms, grid officials implemented rolling blackouts in order to balance and restore power across the state. The resulting, lengthy outages during a scorching heatwave were a reminder of how critical a reliable supply of electricity truly is.

Twenty years ago, such major power disruptions were rare in the United States. But now, they’re more frequent, with more than 180 serious incidents in 2020 alone.

Clearly, something is amiss with America’s electric grid, and families aren’t happy. According to the North American Electricity Reliability Corporation, which oversees the nation’s supply of electricity, the retirement of longstanding coal plants and a hasty attempt to remake the U.S. power grid could pose tremendous challenges to grid reliability over the next decade. Specifically, NERC is warning that the Midwest faces a “high risk” of blackouts this summer.