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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Richard Luscombe and agencies

‘Extreme’ solar storm could yield rare show of northern lights, US agency says

The aurora borealis fill the sky over Skógafoss waterfall on the Skoga River in the south of Iceland in March.
The aurora borealis fills the sky over Skógafoss waterfall on the Skógá River in the south of Iceland in March. Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA

A ferocious solar storm powerful enough to knock out or disrupt satellite and communications systems, the power grid and radio signals was raging on Friday, space weather researchers warned.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) issued a rare warning for extreme G5 geomagnetic storm conditions when a solar outburst reached Earth on Friday afternoon, hours sooner than anticipated. The effects were due to last through the weekend and possibly into next week. The last extreme G5 event was in 2003.

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